4/13/2023 - bags wrote:

wows! Last bottle is going out in style. Salt, orange peel, caramel, just a whole lot of complexity. I never write this sort of nonsense, but this really deserves a big salute. Farewell, final bottle!

2/12/2022 - bags wrote:

A beast that will be great in another 7-10 years

11/11/2021 - bags wrote:

ready to drink and doing so beautifully. with pizza from Al Forno in Providence, so a pretty impressive combination.

9/30/2021 - bags wrote:

I have a ton of wine that's more expensive (pls don't tell my wife!) including some Beaujolais, but I can't remember tasting anything more delicious pop 'n pour. Wow!

9/17/2021 - bags wrote:

seems to be entering its (long) drinking window. classic flavors.

9/6/2021 - bags wrote:

love this wine, but apparently not (yet, at least) this vintage. too big for my taste.

8/21/2021 - bags wrote:

this is so ready. pop 'n pour with pasta, waiting for Hurricane Henri. Sappy, rich, and deep. Just what we want in Montevertine.

7/31/2021 - bags wrote:

nice enough. It was open 30 minutes in the bottle. I can't help but think this needed a full decant.

7/31/2021 - bags wrote:

wonderful as always. An hour decant and opened in the glass throughout dinner.

7/31/2021 - bags wrote:

very good with a 2 hr decant

6/27/2021 - bags wrote:

2 hr decant and this is singing.

5/29/2021 - bags wrote:

this bottle was a touch flat, until I fully decanted the sediment. Much better, but I may have messed it up by being lazy initially.

4/24/2021 - bags wrote:

still good, but surprising settled. Is it going through a 2nd sleep?

4/15/2021 - bags wrote:

never great, but now very, very good. I wish it had a touch more energy as the best vintages have. But I got a case at an absurdly low price, so certainly no complaints.

4/11/2021 - bags wrote:

I suppose I'll never really love Spanish reds--even with the oak pretty resolved here, it remained obvious to me in some sense. But this was good and in its drinking phase now.

3/31/2021 - bags wrote:

previous bottle was a little sour; this one is just perfect. Could have been 10 years ago. I have 2 bottles of CRB left...sigh....

3/29/2021 - bags wrote:

a bit sour. Did I wait too long, or is this just an off bottle? Others await.

2/6/2021 - bags wrote:

Great wine, of course, but the sad end of the evening is that I spilled the final glass.

1/22/2021 - bags wrote:

just wonderful. has several years left, but quite open already.

1/8/2021 - bags wrote:

great bottle. lots of time left

12/8/2020 - bags wrote:

excellent. won't get better, I think; drinking as well as it can.

12/6/2020 - bags wrote:

alternating between decent and pruny

12/1/2020 - bags wrote:

Agree completely with MrOctoberfest.

This is the first bottle I've tried that I can say is drinkable right out of the bottle. Still challenging, but in a good, chewy way. And it promises a lot more development over the next decade.

I think in Italian wines this is one of the great bargains. It ranks with Calabretta Rosso (a little more expensive but an even greater wine). Either gives as much joy as many Barolos.

11/27/2020 - bags wrote:

somewhere between oxidized and enjoyable. but I guess when it's paired with open faced turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy and sides of cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie covered with marshmallows, then it doesn't really matter.

10/17/2020 - bags wrote:

delicious, of course, because it's a fantastic produce at a fantastic price. But as others have said, a bit juicier/fruitier than normal. Maybe wait another couple of years. Plenty of time with this wine.....

10/1/2020 - bags wrote:

too soon or too late, but mediocre at this point.

9/22/2020 - bags wrote:

fantastic! hasn't changed. years left. my last bottle. sigh....

9/20/2020 - bags wrote:

Served my last 3 bottles (out of 18) with brisket for Rosh Hashanah, and felt that they had just a bit less energy and cut than previously. So, this was the right time to drink them up. Amazing wine, amazing value.

9/10/2020 - bags wrote:

not ready. I worry it might never be. Not recognizable compared to the 2010 I had recently.

9/5/2020 - bags wrote:

Definitely ready to drink. Nice. Will not improve, but should hold for 3 or more years.

9/1/2020 - bags wrote:

absolutely lovely. farewell to these.

8/31/2020 - bags wrote:

not one of the better vintages, but still holding up, and a nice wine.

8/24/2020 - bags wrote:

I love "orange" wines, and I did not like this. Maybe a bad bottle?

8/18/2020 - bags wrote:

wonderfully complex as it opens up. Will live at least another decade and probably well beyond.

8/6/2020 - bags wrote:

2 hr decant, and ready to go. but has another 7-10 years easily and more development

8/6/2020 - bags wrote:

90 minute decanting and this was singing.

7/30/2020 - bags wrote:

With take out from the transcendentally wonderful Al Forno for my birthday. As great as the food is (even as take out), the Champagne was the star. Warm, toasty, yet cutting. But as others have noted, it's the incredible nose. This will only get better and better.

7/29/2020 - bags wrote:

great. will last a lot longer, but great now.

7/14/2020 - bags wrote:

lovely. I was a little (pleasantly) surprised by the underlying lead pencil taste.

7/10/2020 - bags wrote:

oh my, this is rounding into a fantastic wine. Hard to imagine how brilliant this will taste in 5 years.

6/30/2020 - bags wrote:

very nice. I see later vintages are upwards of $50. I must be missing something.....

6/26/2020 - bags wrote:

terrific. loads more time.

6/23/2020 - bags wrote:

Never came around even after 2 days in the decanter. Unlike the first bottle a couple years ago. Either an off bottle or in a dumb phase--or maybe I'm in one myself.

6/21/2020 - bags wrote:

nice. will last several more years. not sure about any improvement.

6/15/2020 - bags wrote:

either this isn't a great vintage or it's not quite ready.

6/15/2020 - bags wrote:

a little disappointing, even after a 2 hr decanting. somewhat linear.

6/9/2020 - bags wrote:

nice with air

5/30/2020 - bags wrote:

nice and holding its own. No rush here.

5/28/2020 - bags wrote:

As others have said. Remarkably smooth and clean. A pop 'n pour pleasure.

5/25/2020 - bags wrote:

corked