Popular Wines

wines

The incredible 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate appears to be a natural born legend. It competes with the other-worldly 1987 in terms of pure richness and flavor. It possesses amazing depth, an impenetrably opaque purple color, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. The wine offers a fabulously ripe nose of black-raspberries, cassis, spices, and vanillin. This is the second vintage where the type of tannins achieved by Montelena are softer and sweeter. This is clearly a 20-30 year Cabernet.Robert Parker | 97 RPThe 1991 Chateau Montelena put the Pomerol in its place, incontrovertibly emerging as the star of the evening. The bouquet is utterly sublime, offering enticing scents of blackberries, iodine and a hint of cassis, opulent but beautifully controlled and defined. The palate does not disappoint, delivering plenty of fresh black fruit laced with raspberry preserve and cassis, all wrapped up in a seductive velvety texture that belies the structure underneath. Wonderful!Vinous Media | 95 VMSmooth, rich and intense without being overly tannic. The core of black cherry, anise, blackberry and currant flavors is well-focused, turning supple, with persistent flavors on the finish.--’81/’91 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2006. 12,000 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 91 WS

The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain reveals an opaque black color, huge tannin, terrific purity, and density, a broad, heavyweight mouthfeel, and gobs of ripe tannin. It is a massive Cabernet Sauvignon that requires a decade of cellaring - at the minimum. The last three vintages (1993, 1994 and 1995) offer fabulous promise. They are black/purple-colored wines, with similar levels of sweet, cassis, mineral-tinged fruit, full body, and blockbuster levels of extract and tannin. Both the 1994s and 1995s are still in barrel. What I tasted represented what Randy Dunn believed would be the final blend. This is one winery where the 1995s may turn out to be a point or two superior to the 1994s. The 1995's super-sweet richness is even more intense than the fabulous concentration and extract of the 1994s. This is also another producer who turned out outstanding 1993s, a vintage that has received some unjustifiably tough press from West Coast wine critics.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is an excellent choice for drinking over the next decade or so, as it appears to be more of a mid-weight vintage for Dunn. Open and expressive today, the 1993 is a wine of balance and proportion. Sweet tobacco, anise and spice notes inform the close.Vinous Media | 93 VMEarthy, reductive aromas of anise, tar, mineral and currant lead to similar flavors that are intense, with firm, leather-scented tannins. Supple for a young Dunn Howell Mountain.--1993 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2007. 1,670 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This is considered to be among the greatest vintages ever made in Montrose, right up with the 1929, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990 and 2009. Harvest was October 15 to 17. The wine has really come on since I last tasted it, and it needs at least another 10 years of cellaring. The blend was 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine is opaque black/blue, with an incredible nose of blueberry and blackberry liqueur, with hints of incense, licorice, and acacia flowers. Tannins are incredibly sweet and very present. The wine is full-bodied, even massive, with great purity, depth and a finish that goes on close to a minute. This is a 50- to 75-year-old wine that will repay handsomely those with good aging genes. (Note: The Chateau Montrose website gives an aging potential of 2020-2100.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2010 Montrose is insanely beautiful. A vivid, eternal wine, the 2010 dazzles right out of the gate with its explosive energy. Soaring floral and mineral notes are immediately captivating on the bouquet. All that carries through to the palate, where the wine is dense and expansive. Readers lucky enough to own it should be thrilled. This really benefits from aeration. What a wine! Vinous Media | 100 VM...the 2010 Château Montrose is an undeniably great wine that has everything you could want from this terroir...rocking levels of cassis, graphite, spring flowers, crushed stone, and spicy leather. Full-bodied, incredibly pure, and balanced, it has a seamless mouthfeel, tons of ripe tannins, and a gorgeous, layered finish. It’s a riveting, multi-dimensional Montrose that ranks with the true greats of the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2010 Montrose is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, warm cassis, and licorice, followed by hints of mocha, tapenade, crushed rocks, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate has a formidable structure of very firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the voluptuous black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long, long, long.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIFabulous inky rich depths to the colour here, and right off the nose you feel it enticing you in. Spice is evident, as are the ripples of muscles and walls. This is in the Lynch Bages school of not being ready yet, the tannins are still fully standing to attention. Fruit is dark, tight, hiding its fleshier side for now, and it is extremely clear that this is a vintage with ambition and no intention of going anywhere for many decades. A great wine, needs to be opened for five to six hours if drinking soon, but my suggestion would be to put it away for another three or four years at least. Drinking Window 2022 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECRock solid, displaying a dense core of plum, steeped currant and braised fig fruit, with racy charcoal and ganache notes. Intensely chalky, offering flesh and refinement to match the bracing minerality, this shows hints of grilled savory, iron, warm paving stone and bitter orange on the riveting finish. Should age very slowly. Best from 2019 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA perfumed and pure Montrose, with lots of currants, berries and spices that evolve to chocolate and light coffee. Full body, with super racy tannins and bright and clean finish. Very fine and structured. A balance and freshness to it all as well as beautiful form and tension. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is such an elegant wine that has all the structure of the vintage. Surrounding the tannins, the wine is sweet and ripe, with smokiness from the wood. It’s powerful, elegant and sophisticated with a strong sense of poise. The tannins promise long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Montrose) The 2010 Montrose is another very, very good example of the vintage, but I suspect it will always have to live in the long shadow of the 2008 and 2009 wines from this estate. The wine is probably a tad riper than the 2009, as it weighs in at 13.6 percent, and at this very early date, it seems to have lost just a touch of focus and delineation at this slightly higher octane level. The bouquet is certainly deep and impressively complex out of the blocks, as it offers up scents of sweet cassis, dark berries, Cuban cigar ash, espresso, gravel, lead pencil and a bit of singed earth. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and truly massive in shape, with impeccable balance, a superb core, very substantial, but well-integrated tannins, tangy acids and outstanding length and grip on the powerful finish. There is a fine spine of minerality in the 2010 Montrose that promises very fine evolution on into the future, but the ripeness here seems to have taken just a touch of backend lift away from the wine in this vintage. It is a very good wine, and it may prove that after it has fifteen or twenty years of bottle age on it, I will have underrated it a bit. But at this stage, as good as the 2010 Montrose is, I would rather own the superb 2008 or 2009 vintages from this great estate. (Drink between 2027-2100)John Gilman | 93+ JG

One of the palest and most perfumed Barolos from Vietti with a transparent, ruby-orange hue. This is a super nuanced, elegant, expressive and ethereal Monvigliero that grows on me, with enchanting notes of grilled grapefruit, thyme, frozen raspberries and mineral. A subtle splash of white pepper and mezcal-like smokiness. Really refined and transparent, with some citrus and mineral tensions that are closely knit with the fine, crumbled tannins. So much finesse and detail here, and its complexity will continue to unwind. Really composed, soulful and mind-blowing! A big wow that deserves attention. Vegan. Best with a Burgundy glass. Can drink now or from 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSPrepare to be enchanted by a Barolo that effortlessly lifts out of the glass with aromas of crushed raspberries, wild strawberries, and succulent red cherries, intertwined with delicate rose petals and violets. A subtle hint of stem adds an alluring complexity to the bouquet, drawing you in. The palate is plush and forward, revealing layers of juicy red currants, pomegranate, and a touch of sweet spice. This beautifully crafted wine showcases the finesse and grace of Nebbiolo, with silky tannins and bright acidity that create a harmonious balance. This stunning Barolo is a testament to the skill of the winemaker and the unique terroir of the region. Drink now - 2035. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA relatively new departure for Vietti, the 2020 Barolo Monvigliero is soft and delicate with pretty floral aromas, dried iris, powdered spice and a hint of tar or road pavement. The inaugural vintage was 2018. Made with 60% whole-cluster fruit during fermentation, the wine has a moment of tartness, punchy highlights, sweet grenadine and cranberry jelly. It ages in large oak casks for 24 months. Production is 6,754 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPTop notes of rose, strawberry and cherry are underlined by earth, menthol, iron and tobacco flavors in this elegant yet intense red. Fluid, with a texture that borders on viscous and excellent definition on the long, complex finish. Best from 2027 through 2045. 510 cases made, 175 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSFirst produced in 2018, the 2020 Barolo Monvigliero sees 60% whole cluster fermentation, which contributes to a bit of spice that comes through in the wine. Offering notes of saline, cinnamon, cranberries, white pepper, and orange peel, it’s lean and weightless on the palate, an elegant and graceful red with supple, fine tannins and a clean mouthfeel. Highly refined, this very pretty wine is going to improve over the next 7-10 years. Drink 2025-2035.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDMonvigliero is one of the most elegant crus from Verduno, which is one of the coolest areas in Barolo, producing wines of rare grace. Vietti’s 2020 is a delight, characteristic of the year, full of cinnamon, violet, raspberry and vibrant depth. Zesty acidity seamlessly integrates with velvety, light but savoury tannins, and the wine only thins out a little on the finish.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2020 Barolo Monvigliero is a very pretty, ethereal wine. Crushed flowers, mint, bright, red-toned fruit, dried herbs and spice are nicely lifted. This pretty, nuanced Barolo is very classy, but also on the lighter side. The 2020 is beguiling, but also a bit ethereal—this fruit may have been picked too early.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A medium red hue, the 2020 Barolo Rocche Di Castiglione offers more complexity and is more nuanced in the glass, with notes of dried raspberries, tangerine, roses, dried herbs, and cedar. Medium-bodied, it is crunchy with an elegant feel but has balanced structure and retains a somewhat more chiseled feel that’s true to the vintage. It has a lot to enjoy now and also has a wide drinking window. Drink 2025-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe Vietti 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is a very delineated wine with sharp ferrous notes, cherry cola, redcurrant and chalky mineral. It is extremely precise in terms of its aromas. The effect is direct and layered, showing different sides and increasing complexity as it opens in the glass. Dried floral notes, purple flower and iris also appear delicately. The chalky tannins feel abrupt at this young stage, but this wine is built to last nonetheless. Only 3,512 bottles were created.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is a magical wine from a magical site. It marries finesse and volume to a degree that is not found in most of the other wines in this range. Castiglione Falletto is the center of the Barolo production zone, literally and figuratively, the place where many different soil types meet. As a result, the wines often possess mind-blowing balance, which is very much the case here.Vinous Media | 96 VMCharming and enticing with aromas of sweet cherries, strawberries, cedar, dried herbs and some baking spices. Sensational concentration with a vivid center-palate on the full to medium body. The fine and firm tannins are harmoniously balanced by the succulent red currants and crisp acidity. From organically grown grapes. Vegan. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 96 JSA dense, solidly built version, whose core of cherry and raspberry fruit is accented by iron, wild herb and juniper notes. Focused by vibrant acidity and underlined with chalky tannins, this red is long and detailed on the finish. Best from 2027 through 2045. 270 cases made, 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSVibrant raspberries and juicy red fruits take the lead, creating a lush and fleshy palate that’s impossible to resist. But wait, there’s more! A surprise twist of herbs and mixed spices keeps things interesting, adding depth and complexity to the fruity core. It’s like a blockbuster movie with a plot that keeps you guessing – thrilling, entertaining, and always leaving you wanting more. Drink Now - 2035 Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE