Beta Wine
Montecillo Vineyard Moon Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County, California, USA
This is my first go with the 2014 Montecillo. Based off my experience with the 2013 vintage, I opened this bottle seven hours ahead of time, well in advance of our dinner. I poured a small taste and the wine seemed to have quite a bit of vigor with noticeable, but not obnoxious, volatile acidity so I poured the rest through a Soirée and into a ship’s decanter to breath. Eight hours later, the VA was still present but integrated. One thing is for sure, this wine is unique. Unusual notes of Middle Eastern spiced meat, herbs de Provence, orange zest, and eucalyptus. Not exactly what I would normally expect from Cabernet Sauvignon and yet, this is utterly satisfying. This is a high acid wine and the tannins are mostly imperceptible which makes this bottle quite a bit different from the 2013 version which is a bit of a beast. The 2014 Montecillo is about as fresh as they come out of California these days and the finish is long. The acid leads me to believe it will cellar a long time but it’s hard to say how beneficial that would be. One thing is for certain, these wines from Ketan Mody are wholly unique and probably won’t be for everyone…but I love them. I’m hoping the Jasud Estate can bounce back from the fires of 2020.
This is my first go with the 2014 Montecillo. Based off my experience with the 2013 vintage, I opened this bottle seven hours ahead of time, well in advance of our dinner. I poured a small taste and the wine seemed to have quite a bit of vigor with noticeable, but not obnoxious, volatile acidity so I poured the rest through a Soirée and into a ship’s decanter to breath. Eight hours later, the VA was still present but integrated. One thing is for sure, this wine is unique. Unusual notes of Middle Eastern spiced meat, herbs de Provence, orange zest, and eucalyptus. Not exactly what I would normally expect from Cabernet Sauvignon and yet, this is utterly satisfying. This is a high acid wine and the tannins are mostly imperceptible which makes this bottle quite a bit different from the 2013 version which is a bit of a beast. The 2014 Montecillo is about as fresh as they come out of California these days and the finish is long. The acid leads me to believe it will cellar a long time but it’s hard to say how beneficial that would be. One thing is for certain, these wines from Ketan Mody are wholly unique and probably won’t be for everyone…but I love them. I’m hoping the Jasud Estate can bounce back from the fires of 2020.
Jan 10th, 2021
Ketan is doing such a good job with these wines. Consistently good.
Ketan is doing such a good job with these wines. Consistently good.
Jan 1st, 2024