Community Tasting Note

• msuwine wrote: 97 points

  February 11, 2021 - This enchanting Cabernet is as elegant as it is powerful - a difficult balance to achieve in Northern California (or really anywhere). The 2018 is more fulsome and layered than the 2017 (which was, to me, an impressive wine in an unimpressive year), but this doesn’t taste as brutish as many 2018s in the early going. Instead, this is a wine of precision - not in the service of self-denial, but in pursuit of ripeness, balance, and sheer deliciousness.
  
  Bright red in color and medium in body, the wine offers enveloping aromas of sour cherry, fresh thyme, cardamon, espresso, rose petals, and crushed rock. If this smells like a premier cru Gevrey-Chambertin (i.e., earthy, floral, lifted), it tastes like a mountain Napa Cabernet (i.e., bright, red-fruited, generous). The flavors unfold with the clarity and momentum of a good argument, offering up lithe notes of blueberry skin, sage, Turkish coffee, trail dust, and pencil shavings, with a lifted finish of delicate tannins and incredible freshness (think biting into a sour cherry and waiting 20 seconds - that’s how your mouth feels). 14.3% alcohol. Decant at least an hour, if not two.
  
  Fermented grape juice, kind of by definition, can’t have a “soul," but this wine is absolutely “soulful” - i.e., unique, singular, complex, alive, and growing. I’ve been a fan of Di Costanzo for years now, and this is my favorite wine they’ve made so far. Yeah, yeah, yeah... it is young and will improve with time; opening it now is a fool’s errand (a job for which I am uniquely qualified!); and, um, patience, judgment, reasons. That said, life is for the living, and wine is for the drinking. In other words: this is stunning… right now. 96-97 at the moment, with upside in 2023 or later.

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13 Comments

• blarmston commented:

  2/11/21, 11:55 PM - Great note MSU! Shit, now I may have to go back in and grab some of this (I only bought the Farella and the Caldwell back last year).

• msuwine commented:

  2/12/21, 12:09 AM - Ha! I'm not trying to divert your earnings, but I did think this was pretty special. That said, I've tasted maybe 20 Napa Cabernets from 2018, and this was far and away the best. So, limited sample size, boundless enthusiasm - sounds like CellarTracker!
  
  Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about your recent trip to Napa. Any unexpected discoveries? Take care.

• blarmston commented:

  2/12/21, 8:57 AM - Hey MSU- I have been meaning to write up a recap and post on here, but my week has been nuts. I will quickly say that I had a chance to taste the new 2018 Perchance with Leah Smith and it was delicious. Sourced from a choice block of Georges 3rd, and a very well made wine. Still a baby of course but it will cruise for decades...

• WineForRob commented:

  2/12/21, 10:37 AM - Great note. Just inspired me to buy more. I agree the 2017 Di Costanzo wines are some of the few I didnt unload.

• #1Winelover commented:

  2/14/21, 5:27 AM - Great review -- I just picked up some. I really like The Montecillo Vineyard. It's very unique.

• Papillon1112 commented:

  2/18/21, 4:55 PM - Your TN (great one for sure) caught everyone’s attention. Besides it’s easy to get behind Erin & Massimo. Picked up 1 of 2018 Montecillo and 2 of the 2017...thinking 2 more 2018 is on the horizon! TY for diving in....

• blarmston commented:

  2/18/21, 6:28 PM - I forgot to add a TN, but I had a bottle of this on Monday.
  
  It is easily the best DiCo wine that I’ve had, and I’ve had most of them. I immediately texted them to buy more.
  
  It’s that good...

• #1Winelover commented:

  2/18/21, 6:39 PM - Blarmston et al, you should check out other wineries that source grapes from Montecillo Vineyard. It's a special and well hidden vineyard with old vines. Really terrific! My order from Dico has not arrived thus far...

• msuwine commented:

  2/18/21, 6:48 PM - Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm so glad you liked it blarmston! I was starting to think I was that crazy guy who loved a wine that no one else would like as much, and that I unduly raised the expectations of my CT brethren. Now, I know that there are two crazy guys (at least)!
  
  I didn't want to seem too mercantile, but the one part I didn't mention is price. I mean, Northern California, single vineyard, a wine that tastes good early (i.e., a lot of Napa wines) and will legitimately age (i.e., not a lot of Napa wines), started by folks who aren't trading in on wealth made elsewhere but instead learned the trade and started a label with a last name and no consultants... and it's $105.
  
  Papillon is completely right - no brainer of a purchase, defined. Look forward to reading what everyone else thinks.

• Papillon1112 commented:

  2/18/21, 6:49 PM - Thanks Blarmston. Good to know I appreciate it since I haven’t tried it yet. I almost reached out to you to see whether you had any 2018 Memento Mori LPV or Crane that you weren’t taking. MM offered me the blend only and I was really interested in the SVD.

• Papillon1112 commented:

  2/18/21, 6:51 PM - You bet MSU all in...!!!

• blarmston commented:

  2/18/21, 7:23 PM - Pap- I didn’t grab the Maggie’s for the MM SVD’s that were offered. If you want them, I can text them to see if it’s still available.

• Papillon1112 commented:

  2/18/21, 7:45 PM - Super nice of you! My pockets are only so deep so I opted for VHR offering. I’ll read everyone’s CT notes on MM SVD and enjoy it vicariously through you all. Thanks MSU/Blarmston a couple more Monticello it is!