Jay Kline

9.7

Of all the American red wines that participated in the Judgement of Paris, it could be argued that Monte Bello has shown the greatest propensity to age. In fact, I would go as far as it requires lengthy cellaring to extract its best. I’ve had the good fortune to drink a number of tremendous vintages of Monte Bello over the last several years and this one has got to be at or near the top of the lot.

Opened and poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1991 Monte Bello pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core moving out towards a light ruby rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) with gorgeous notes of ripe and tart black currants, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, some purple flowers, dill, mint, leather, earth, vanilla and associated baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. The structure remains tremendous which again, seems to indicate youth. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is super long and immensely satisfying. This is one of those wines that will outlive most humans. Drinking well now with a short decant but this has the gas to see 2061 with ease. — 14 days ago

romo

9.3

White burgundy ringer. Crazy QPR. — 2 months ago

Joe DAscoli

9.1

This was more elegant and less flavorful than expected

Very light fruit and minimal oak

Paired with giant 12oz lobster tails. Happy Armenian Christmas!

Crazy thing happened with the pairing. This wine tasted like a fresh shucked raw oyster. Dead on after a bite of lobster, like eating an oyster chaser. Wild. — a month ago

Teresa S

9.1

Delicious fruit and well balanced. Yum — a month ago

Rich Bluth

9.2

drinking perfectly now. enjoy! — a month ago

Manda D

9.0

Great for pizza night! Smooth and the tiniest bit sweet. — 3 months ago

Alexandre Czesnat

8.9

Red berries, oaky, tobacco, bold — 8 days ago

Tyler Felous

9.0

12 yr old rioja blanco. Beautiful golden color. Banana nose. Almost chemical. Blew off after about 30 mins and the acidity took flight. A special wine, but I think we were too aggressive out of gates to taste its peak. — a month ago

Ruud Verhagen

9.2

always a stunning bottle of white Rioja from Baron de Ley. So much fun for a great price… — a month ago

Ron R

9.3

Honeydew melon and pineapple everywhere.. broad and expansive on the mid-palate. Moderate and honied sweetness is tucked in with complementary acidity. A beauty. — 3 months ago

with Anne-marie