Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2020 vintage. From the FLB offerings. Did the slinky decant (back and forth in the same two decanters-I rarely have that kind of time) so the wine got “transported” from the original bottle into a decanter for a 8x decant. Tasted after one hour. Wine always has obvious pedigree but usually comes hell-bent for oak. Plenty of oak in the nose upon the initial open but the decanter to decanter back and forth minimized it. Got past the fearsome front line and into the secondary (flavors). Black olive, dustiness, cedar, hint of beefiness. Zero rush to crush but needs plenty of air. Another excellent 2020 Napa red. Not that many made/survived but the private, firefighting force occasionally pays out bigg dividends, capital gains and realized profits. 8.7.26. — 22 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

2022 vintage. Nice but overpriced. 7.29.26. — a month ago

Jocholla

9.0

Lemon, biscuit, green apple, some herbal note, crisp bubbles. Nice Thursday pour. — 2 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Decant and pour. An amazing still dark garnet with bricking. On the nose: subtle notes of dark fruit, worn leather, herbaceous, pencil shavings, mint. Taste: savory, silky, elegant wine with some dried cherry/red plum, currants, tobacco, spice, earth, coffee grounds and a medium plus finish. YUM!!! Drinking beautifully for its age on this rain for an hour cool afternoon in Napa. — 3 months ago

with Brenda

Joe Christenson

9.4

Big plum, blackberry, and dark cherry flavors. Black pepper. Plenty of zippiness. A bit of earthiness. Delicious with pizza. Excellent wine. — 5 months ago

Jamie Amann

9.0

Had a ruby color. Smelled like red berries and tasted like cherry or blackberry. — 6 months ago

Steve Mitchell

9.4

Well this was nice. Paired well with crab and shrimp risotto and a salad. — 8 months ago

James K

9.2

Perfectly stored and the cork was immaculate. In terms of color and smell/taste, this has held up well. However, it is on the down-slide. Additionally, I just have never been blown away by Montelena estate red. Always seem to not live up to expectations. I love their whites. — 18 days ago

Shay A

9.3

93+

Opened for a quarterly BNO (theme was Cali cabs pre-2016 and Alsatian whites) alongside a 2012 Gustave Lorentz Grand Cru Kanzlerberg Pinot Gris.

My last of three bottles, and all three showed a bit of variation. The second bottle I opened up in Jan of this year was a bit more powerful and leaned toward the darker fruit spectrum whereas this one was very much classical and pure red-fruit driven.

Pulled the cork two hours before consuming. Everything about this wine spoke to a classical style of Cali cab before ripeness got pushed to the limit. Most people agreed this wine showed a good bit of youth. Aromatics of dark cherries, raspberries, red/purple potpourri, hint of graphite. Very fresh and juicy on the palate with ripe red fruits, some herbs and earthiness and a fantastic spine of acidity running through. Even after two hours of being open and consumed over the next 2-3hrs, the tannin at the finish was grippy and paired well with a rich short rib. My friend next to me brought an ‘05 Stag’s Leap Cellars SLV which showed more French in style while also being very much in the “not getting better” territory.

I had a full glass worth to follow the next day and it was beautifully integrated a touch more. If this bottle is as the norm, I’d say it has a couple more years in this lovely window before turning more tertiary. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2022 vintage. Nice but overpriced by miles, not kilometers. 7.1.26. — 2 months ago

Andrea Watt

9.0

Plum and pepper with a touch of leather. — 3 months ago

Paul J

9.4

1hr+ decant. Lovely dark red almost purple color. More oak than I was expecting but it was fairly well integrated with dark fruit. Medium plus depth and solid finish. — 5 months ago

with Brooke and

Gary Wilson

9.7

Great wine! Strong firm tannins. This is my kind of wine. — 8 months ago

Dave

9.1

Pleasant and true to type Garnacha. Ruby red, floral, some Flintstone vitamin on the nose. Fruity and tannic.
Listening to Oscar Peterson — 24 days ago

Jenn Ingle

10

Nose - Plum, candied orange, peat moss and wood. Mouthfeel - Velvety smooth up front, ending in a subtle pleasant astringency. Main flavors - Stone fruit and earth with a delicate acidic ending with a touch of dryness, like you get when you lick the pit of a nectarine, peach or plum. Overall - a gorgeously complex and lovely Pinot!! 1 million out of 10! — 13 days ago

with Jeremy and Jay

Michelle Sakowicz

9.1

Amazing heavy, bold wine with steak and balsamic mushrooms. Perfect pair for the price. Tonya de door grapes are bold and flavorful red wine option. — a month ago

with Brian

KA

9.2

Elways Steakhouse Denver — 3 months ago

Norman

9.2

Amazing nose — 4 months ago

Ted

9.4

Beauty. Red licorice and ripe plums. The bottle disappeared very quickly. 😆 — 6 months ago

with Jeni

Erica Cessna

9.0

FWGS - Norristown — 6 months ago