2015 Monte Bello

The 2016 Monte Bello is a masterful expression of this lauded site in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s powerful, broad and infinitely layered, but it also possesses an incredibly finessed tannin structure that speaks clearly and forcefully but yields dutifully. Saturated blueberry, gravel, eucalyptus, charcoal, cedar and India ink build gradually and steadily through the long and sizzling finish. Just beginning to soften and develop beyond the primary stage, it wouldn’t be a crime to open a bottle now, but this has many, many lives left to live and should be even better (if you can fathom) in a few more years. This is what Monte Bello is all about. (BN)

The 2015 Monte Bello is still a well-protected fortress of a wine. A more red-fruited and tobacco-laden Monte Bello, it’s mouthwateringly juicy and stubbornly tightly wound, giving rise to the question of whether it will ever let its guard down. Even so, the stuffing is undeniably there, so you might as well just keep waiting. Of course, the risk is that this wine may outlast all of us before it ever truly gives up the goods. Check on it again in five years.

Smoky black, plummy fruits, graphite, violets, and that classic Monte Bello oak profile all shine in the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello, and it's concentrated, full-bodied, and structured on the palate, with a beautiful core of fruit yet rock-solid aacidity and ripe tannins. While it's a touch foursquare and gangly at present, it's nevertheless a gorgeous effort that's 5-7 years away from the early stages of its prime drinking window. It will have 40+ years of overall longevity and is an utter classic from this estate.