2002 Monte Bello

The 2002 Monte Bello is stunning, bursting from the glass with an expressive nose of ripe blackcurrants, crème de cassis, dried cherries, burning embers, pencil lead, loamy soil and a perfumed top note of lavender. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, lavish and expansive, cutting a broad swathe across the palate, with a deep, concentrated core of succulent fruit that's framed by ripe, plush tannins, concluding with a lingering finish. At age 16, the 2002 is truly singing, so anyone with bottles in their cellar is due for a treat. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot, and it attained 13.3% alcohol. Unusually, fully 13% was matured in new French oak—with the balance, as usual, in new American oak.

Very small yields. A high tannin year so short maceration. Just 2,000 cases. Strong cassis for once. Sweet ink. Neat, bright fruited and super clean. Great balance. (JR)

The 2002 Monte Bello is just starting to enter the early plateau of its maturity. Bright red cherry, raspberry, wild flowers, mint and crushed flowers all lift from the glass. Sweet, perfumed and totally gracious, the 2002 has it all going on today. The 2002 is an especially nuanced and feminine Monte Bello, particularly in its aromatics, although it turns sweeter and more unctuous on the mid-palate. There is plenty of depth and intensity, but it is all about understatement when it comes to the 2002, a compelling, racy Monte Bello that is in a great place today. Eric Baugher describes 2002 as a vintage with the lowest yields seen in the last 20 years because of bad weather during bloom. Macerations were shorter than normal because of the inherent richness of the fruit.