John Roselli

9.2

I keep coming back to this one. Had it with a spicy chicken and broccoli stir-fry while listening to a live recording of Radu Lupu playing a Bach prelude & fugue (BWV 867). Each made the others more enjoyable. — 7 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim. This 7 year old is showing a great nose now.

Dry on the palate with medium plus acidity.

Showing red and black fruits with wood, earth, herbs, spices, wild flowers, chocolates, leather, tobacco leaf, dark coffee and black pepper.

This is a delicious, yet very young, Sangiovese from Chianti. Nicely balanced, powerful and tangy.

This 2016 vintage holds great promise for aging gracefully over the next two decades. However, at present, it has yet to fully reach its full potential. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

Would have been nice to have it decanted for a few hours, but it wasn't my call. I had it blind, so it is what it is.

I paired it with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

100% Sangiovese grapes.

14% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$350. — 2 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

One hour decant (lots of chunky sediment). A captivating inky dark garnet color. On the nose: dark plum, cinnamon, floral, vanilla honey, with a slight menthol hit at the end. Taste: Dark fruit, cedar, tar, honey gram cracker. Surprisingly, the tannins are mostly resolved....polished, smooth, with just a tiny hint of bitterness. Nice......a creamy bright bing cherry long finish. Drink now or over the next 10 years.

Enjoying the wine with the season finale of Better Call Saul!! — 5 years ago

with Brenda

Steve S.

9.2

We call this Mum’s win because she loved this one. Love you Mum. — a year ago

Michael Chelus

9.1

Black currant, raspberry preserves, blackberry, licorice, cherry and oak. Full-bodied and soft tannins. — a year ago

Ed Chin

9.4

Ok I’m a sucker for a slight herbaceous green pryazine whatever you want to call it element. I think it adds some character and makes it more interesting  — 3 years ago

Paco Suro

9.1

Consistently yummy. I would call this a balanced wine vs hot years which tend to be jammy and over the top. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Flight #2 of our 1997 Retrospective and these were the thoroughbreds. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #2 had great color, was developing, fresh, focused, balanced; great structure. One of those glasses of wine you didn’t want to end and, for me, a tough call for favorite of the flight along with Wine #1. I vacillated between this being Dominus or Monte Bello; ultimately calling the former. This is in a beautiful phase of life. Monte Bello is one of those wines that needs decades to show its best. Drink now through 2040. — 10 months ago

Joe Weinberger

9.1

Best bottle of this yet. Very tasty. — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Christmas Eve bottle. Paired wonderfully with honey glazed ham and bacon & green chili hash brown casserole!

Jan 2019 disgorgement. Before opening, this evokes tasting notes of Ulysse Collin’s rosé (a true favorite of mine). The frosted bottle, the deep color, and even the initial aromatics. From across the room, you’d likely call this red burgundy. When diving in to it, notes of licorice, cinnamon, cardamom and rhubarb come to mind. Catches you off guard. On the palate, it’s super vinous and dense, yet has so much classical meunier notes of gummy red fruits, floral notes of violets, and a unique sugar frosted cranberry note toward the finish. What sets this apart from most is the finish when paired with food...it turns almost savory and there is zero sweetness or tart notes. Any type of food seems to make this infinitely better. There is tannin and weight too, which has this drinking like a red burg when the right food pairing is taking place. Delicious, and a no brainer for buying again. — 4 years ago