From magnum. This is a wow wine. Deep complex fruit with classy earthen notes underneath. Mountain shrub. At least from magnum this will go another 20y without issue.
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Drank half on day 1, recorked and left it on the counter, tried another glass day 2, finished it on day 3. The Beta Monticello seemed like three different wines.
On day 1 the wine was very closed, rather tannic, not hugely appealing. But it really transformed as time passed, and by day 3 was in a totally different place — I ended up regretting that I didn’t start with just one glass on day 1, to leave more for day 3!
The Monticello is a medium bodied Bordeaux-styled wine, and although it is shown as 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, left me wondering if Ketan might have a bit of Cabernet franc in the blend. On the nose you find sour cherries and mushrooms, some spicy notes, wax. A slightly tart structure frames the palate, which features mature fruit that hasn’t really become at all sweet or heavy. Firm but polished tannins. Long mineral finish.
This is a wine that can reward another decade of aging, but if you give it enough time to breathe is interesting now. Not one to pop and pour, and frankly not a wine to serve to guests who love the sweet, hot style of California Cabernet. But if you want a wine that expresses the site more directly and that was harvested when ripe but not overripe, Beta Monticello is a good option.
I’m scoring this bottle 91 based on current showing. I actually still think it has the potential for a much higher score if given enough time to age,and will hide my last bottle in a corner to try ten years from now. By then, it may merit 95.
Delicious. Rainier cherry, fig, menthol, plus acid, refined tannins. Long finish of tart cherry. This is lean but intense, elegant, complex, and flavorful. Reminds me a bit of a Martha’s Vineyard cab with 10 years of age. Ready to go but also curious where this would be in 5-10 years.
Medium density ruby and garnet color. Plum and blueberry and flint on the nose. After double decanting and back in fridge for 10 hrs, then decanting and sitting for 3 hrs prior to serving, the initial licorice and bitterness was gone (did not like this at all prior to air). Fairly strong acidity with tart cherry, slight blackberry, and pine on the palate, medium body and finish. Resembled more of a Bordeaux wine with no hint of modern day Napa, although a tad more acidic and less smooth than French wines (no merlot). Very hard to rate this unique wine but would be interesting to try again with a lot more aging
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The nose is a hard blackberry with mineral and camphor element, green herb, and chocolate. The palate entry is a clean and fresh red berry and mineral with a silky, lean red cherry and polished herb. Drink 2019 – 2029.
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A gorgeous nose of bright cherry and licorice. The acidity is quite high but the fruit balances it. Sour cherry, tobacco, florals, and licorice on a long sweet finish. You would never guess California Cabernet Sauvignon.
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First time ever tasting this wine and this review represents a PnP. The wine is young with high acidity. The flavors are a merge of dark purple fruits with a core of sour cherry. Oak is minimally noted throughout. The wine is medium-body at best on the tongue. Given the lower alcohol content, the wine is easy to sip. If tasted blind, I would have thought this was Italian rather than Napa in origin. No secondary characteristics at this time. My wife was not a fan as she likes her red wines, big, chewy, and teeth-staining. I will give this a 90-91 points as of now but I think this wine might fair better if drank with food. Will wait 5 years before opening my next bottle.
PNP. A little reticent upon opening, but blossomed over a couple of hours. Young and tight, but still giving pleasure. Cassis black cherry and sour cherry. Firm tannins, well balanced by acidity and pure fruit underneath. Earthy, spicy finish. Would have guessed Bordeaux. Very good now, this will be great with more age.
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Young and tight but still charming and somewhat accessible wine. Earth, flint, smoke and primary dark fruited nose. Not a jammy fruit bomb, quite a structured wine with tightly wound if somewhat chunky tannins. Earthy with more dark fruit, buffered by a spine of acidity with a youthful and slightly hot finish. Time should be kind in the mid-term, have no idea about longer. If blinded I would probably not call California.
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Lovely black currant, black and sour cherry notes along with graphite and leather. Acidity on this wine is excellent, higher than what I would typically expect for a Napa or Sonoma cab. Velvety tannins just starting to integrate. Clearly a wine built for the cellar, but offers pleasure now.
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Not the magic of my last bottle, but this is very good and better than 2011 and 2012, now that I have tasted them. Red and black fruits, bittersweet chocolate. Love the acidity and freshness.
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Love love love this wine. Doesn’t taste like a “classic big” California cab. Lots of soil and earth. Great structure and leaner than expected. Needed to open just a bit. Gonna cellar the others for a couple years.
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This is great. Took a minute in the glass to get there, but this is a special wine for sure. The acid level is a bit jarring at first for a Napa Cabernet, but the balance between the tannin, acid and fruit here is really something. Lots of sour cherry flavors coming through, but with much more ripe fruit hiding beneath the structure than Bordeaux where you might see a similar flavor profile. After an hour of air it was really singing. Can't say I've ever had a wine quite like this before, definitely unique. Room for improvement with age for sure.
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From the first pour this is an incredibly complex, layered yet subtle wine. Cool toned, very minty dark red fruit, sexy pipe tobacco, dark minerality, long long long finish. Wonderful freshness. Unfortunately it began to shut down after 45 minutes or so, as mentioned in another note here. I have limited experience with this category, but this is the most captivating young cabernet sauvignon I've had. I had no idea there were wines like this being made in California.
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Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. What an unusual and extremely cool profile. This is unlike any other Cal cab I've tried, even the 2012 and 2011 vintages of the same wine. This is a step up. It's not overpowering, but subtle, the nose more Bordeaux-like than Napa, but the taste has a complex, savory, spicy aspect that I can't quite nail down. I don't get the cassis note, but yeah to the blood orange thing. The finish is forever, and there are some moments where I get a hint that it's going to keep deepening for the next twenty years, so yeah, drink this or bury it. It's fascinating. Eleventy jillion points.
Merry Christmas CT community! After the rather disappointing Côte Rôtie, I hoped this would come through with the goods and holy smokes, did it ever deliver. From the pull of the cork, this was absolutely singing. Gratuitous amounts of cassis with tobacco, espresso, and blood orange zest!? The palate is laden with black currants and minerals...ALL the minerals. They dazzle the tongue. Beautiful acid and firm but measured tannin. The finish lasts for several minutes. A wonder wine. My first experience drinking one of Ketan’s Betas and if this is any indication of what is to come at the Jasud Estate, we are spoiled. Leaving it late, this bottle is in contention for my wine of the year.
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Another highly successful Montecillo red from Ketan Mody, and like the 2017, quite an interesting wine to taste.
Call this 95 now, (95-97) as it ages. The wine is medium bodied and less dark in color than many 2013 reds - Ketan says that Montecillo is cooled by ocean breezes and has natural subsurface humidity, and that this protects against drought and heat spikes. On opening the wine was a bit reticent but it blossomed with air. The nose shows red cherry and black cherry aromas, leather, sage. On the palate the fruit was harvested before it reached that point where acidity can drop, so you have ripeness but more structure than in many Napa cabs (call this "St. Emilion" in style). As the wine opens, you find layers and layers of complexity in the long and expressive finish. A great success, and will reward aging.
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4/9/2024 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine: 95 Points
From magnum. This is a wow wine. Deep complex fruit with classy earthen notes underneath. Mountain shrub. At least from magnum this will go another 20y without issue.
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12/11/2023 - RAB007 wrote: 87 Points
too acidic and not enough fruit. Maybe difficult do in 2013?!
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8/20/2023 - KPB wrote: 91 Points
Drank half on day 1, recorked and left it on the counter, tried another glass day 2, finished it on day 3. The Beta Monticello seemed like three different wines.
On day 1 the wine was very closed, rather tannic, not hugely appealing. But it really transformed as time passed, and by day 3 was in a totally different place — I ended up regretting that I didn’t start with just one glass on day 1, to leave more for day 3!
The Monticello is a medium bodied Bordeaux-styled wine, and although it is shown as 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, left me wondering if Ketan might have a bit of Cabernet franc in the blend. On the nose you find sour cherries and mushrooms, some spicy notes, wax. A slightly tart structure frames the palate, which features mature fruit that hasn’t really become at all sweet or heavy. Firm but polished tannins. Long mineral finish.
This is a wine that can reward another decade of aging, but if you give it enough time to breathe is interesting now. Not one to pop and pour, and frankly not a wine to serve to guests who love the sweet, hot style of California Cabernet. But if you want a wine that expresses the site more directly and that was harvested when ripe but not overripe, Beta Monticello is a good option.
I’m scoring this bottle 91 based on current showing. I actually still think it has the potential for a much higher score if given enough time to age,and will hide my last bottle in a corner to try ten years from now. By then, it may merit 95.
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4/8/2023 - jonh1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Delicious. Rainier cherry, fig, menthol, plus acid, refined tannins. Long finish of tart cherry. This is lean but intense, elegant, complex, and flavorful. Reminds me a bit of a Martha’s Vineyard cab with 10 years of age. Ready to go but also curious where this would be in 5-10 years.
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3/30/2022 - Asull2k wrote: 90 Points
Medium density ruby and garnet color. Plum and blueberry and flint on the nose. After double decanting and back in fridge for 10 hrs, then decanting and sitting for 3 hrs prior to serving, the initial licorice and bitterness was gone (did not like this at all prior to air). Fairly strong acidity with tart cherry, slight blackberry, and pine on the palate, medium body and finish. Resembled more of a Bordeaux wine with no hint of modern day Napa, although a tad more acidic and less smooth than French wines (no merlot). Very hard to rate this unique wine but would be interesting to try again with a lot more aging
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4/21/2021 - purely Likes this wine: 93 Points
The nose is a hard blackberry with mineral and camphor element, green herb, and chocolate. The palate entry is a clean and fresh red berry and mineral with a silky, lean red cherry and polished herb. Drink 2019 – 2029.
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3/12/2021 - Diane (LI) wrote:
A gorgeous nose of bright cherry and licorice. The acidity is quite high but the fruit balances it. Sour cherry, tobacco, florals, and licorice on a long sweet finish. You would never guess California Cabernet Sauvignon.
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9/24/2020 - NephroBoy wrote: 91 Points
First time ever tasting this wine and this review represents a PnP. The wine is young with high acidity. The flavors are a merge of dark purple fruits with a core of sour cherry. Oak is minimally noted throughout. The wine is medium-body at best on the tongue. Given the lower alcohol content, the wine is easy to sip. If tasted blind, I would have thought this was Italian rather than Napa in origin. No secondary characteristics at this time. My wife was not a fan as she likes her red wines, big, chewy, and teeth-staining. I will give this a 90-91 points as of now but I think this wine might fair better if drank with food. Will wait 5 years before opening my next bottle.
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3/26/2020 - Maphill01 Likes this wine:
PNP. A little reticent upon opening, but blossomed over a couple of hours. Young and tight, but still giving pleasure. Cassis black cherry and sour cherry. Firm tannins, well balanced by acidity and pure fruit underneath. Earthy, spicy finish. Would have guessed Bordeaux. Very good now, this will be great with more age.
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3/19/2020 - joshbryer Likes this wine:
Young and tight but still charming and somewhat accessible wine. Earth, flint, smoke and primary dark fruited nose. Not a jammy fruit bomb, quite a structured wine with tightly wound if somewhat chunky tannins. Earthy with more dark fruit, buffered by a spine of acidity with a youthful and slightly hot finish. Time should be kind in the mid-term, have no idea about longer. If blinded I would probably not call California.
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3/15/2020 - rieslinghoarder Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely black currant, black and sour cherry notes along with graphite and leather. Acidity on this wine is excellent, higher than what I would typically expect for a Napa or Sonoma cab. Velvety tannins just starting to integrate. Clearly a wine built for the cellar, but offers pleasure now.
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3/7/2020 - 5laton wrote:
Not the magic of my last bottle, but this is very good and better than 2011 and 2012, now that I have tasted them. Red and black fruits, bittersweet chocolate. Love the acidity and freshness.
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3/7/2020 - DDemole Likes this wine: 95 Points
Love love love this wine. Doesn’t taste like a “classic big” California cab. Lots of soil and earth. Great structure and leaner than expected. Needed to open just a bit. Gonna cellar the others for a couple years.
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2/5/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is great. Took a minute in the glass to get there, but this is a special wine for sure. The acid level is a bit jarring at first for a Napa Cabernet, but the balance between the tannin, acid and fruit here is really something. Lots of sour cherry flavors coming through, but with much more ripe fruit hiding beneath the structure than Bordeaux where you might see a similar flavor profile. After an hour of air it was really singing. Can't say I've ever had a wine quite like this before, definitely unique. Room for improvement with age for sure.
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2/2/2020 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 95 Points
Cassis, blackberry, floral, black pepper, mineral, fine firm tannin. So good, but I think this will improve w/a few more years
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1/3/2020 - 5laton wrote:
From the first pour this is an incredibly complex, layered yet subtle wine. Cool toned, very minty dark red fruit, sexy pipe tobacco, dark minerality, long long long finish. Wonderful freshness. Unfortunately it began to shut down after 45 minutes or so, as mentioned in another note here. I have limited experience with this category, but this is the most captivating young cabernet sauvignon I've had. I had no idea there were wines like this being made in California.
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1/2/2020 - ledocq Likes this wine:
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. What an unusual and extremely cool profile. This is unlike any other Cal cab I've tried, even the 2012 and 2011 vintages of the same wine. This is a step up. It's not overpowering, but subtle, the nose more Bordeaux-like than Napa, but the taste has a complex, savory, spicy aspect that I can't quite nail down. I don't get the cassis note, but yeah to the blood orange thing. The finish is forever, and there are some moments where I get a hint that it's going to keep deepening for the next twenty years, so yeah, drink this or bury it. It's fascinating. Eleventy jillion points.
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12/24/2019 - thesternowl Likes this wine: 98 Points
Merry Christmas CT community! After the rather disappointing Côte Rôtie, I hoped this would come through with the goods and holy smokes, did it ever deliver. From the pull of the cork, this was absolutely singing. Gratuitous amounts of cassis with tobacco, espresso, and blood orange zest!? The palate is laden with black currants and minerals...ALL the minerals. They dazzle the tongue. Beautiful acid and firm but measured tannin. The finish lasts for several minutes. A wonder wine. My first experience drinking one of Ketan’s Betas and if this is any indication of what is to come at the Jasud Estate, we are spoiled. Leaving it late, this bottle is in contention for my wine of the year.
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8/3/2019 - KPB wrote: 95 Points
Another highly successful Montecillo red from Ketan Mody, and like the 2017, quite an interesting wine to taste.
Call this 95 now, (95-97) as it ages. The wine is medium bodied and less dark in color than many 2013 reds - Ketan says that Montecillo is cooled by ocean breezes and has natural subsurface humidity, and that this protects against drought and heat spikes. On opening the wine was a bit reticent but it blossomed with air. The nose shows red cherry and black cherry aromas, leather, sage. On the palate the fruit was harvested before it reached that point where acidity can drop, so you have ripeness but more structure than in many Napa cabs (call this "St. Emilion" in style). As the wine opens, you find layers and layers of complexity in the long and expressive finish. A great success, and will reward aging.
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