Jan de Weerd

9.6

Highlight of the night! And a surprise to some degree. I kind off had given up on Lynch Bages. Given the high price, to me, the 2015 and 2016 were below expectation. But, boy, this 2018 rung all bells. Super concentrated, layers of evolving dark cherry, blueberry, current flavors and a superb balanced finish. All one could wish for. — 20 days ago

with Tammy

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. No formal notes due to the setting. The 2018 is a fairly classic expression of Beaucastel with a mixed bramble fruit set, underbrush, herbs and spices in lovely balance. Good structure. While still on the youthful side, the 2018 is already showing well and was an awesome accompaniment with a wagyu burger. Drink now through 2038. — a month ago

Damian

9.9

Decanted in the glass for 30 minutes, with bottle open during that time and later. The best wine experience so far. I tried it before on a tasting and was not impressed. Brioche, toast, citrus, apple and racing acidity were still present in my mouth after 2 minutes of taking a sip. I prefer to drink it the way I described at the beginning vs straight from the bottle that was standing in ice. — a month ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium ruby garnet, still quite young looking , garnet rim . Quite sweet sous bois , with some spice , cedar and earthy cigar notes , almost liquorice hint. Touch smoky on the palate , with a more roasted red fruit hint on the palate . Quite rounded sweet tannin , balanced acidity and ok length . This is at the end of its drinking window apparently, still showing ok , and held up quite well in the glass , shows quite a lot of the warmth of the vintage . It reminded me of the 1990 in that respect, though is overall more complex and longer on the palate than that vintage . Drink now and over the next few years , I don’t see this improving from here. — 2 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

No formal notes . Pretty deep Amber , copper colour . Intense marmalade , saffron , creme caramel . Rich on the palate with rich marmalade , saffron notes . Good acidity , but rich. Good length . This is drinkable now and shows quite an advanced colour , though due to its richness will probably carry on delivering for another 20 years , perhaps longer .

This was a rather fascinating evening put together by our incredibly generous host. All 2007 reds were served blind in two flights: 1st Mouton, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc , La Mission Haut Brion then Latour , Lafite , Petrus and Margaux . Overall the wines showed well , and were mostly enjoyable to drink now , though there is no rush . This somewhat maligned vintage can give a lot of enjoyment in the right environment, I certainly wouldn’t hold back from opening or purchasing any of these wines . They mostly show good density of fruit , personality and elegance , with good freshness. These are not powerful wines , and at times perhaps the fruit can be a little cooler or greener but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they performed , just goes to show you should never write off a vintage without trying the wines ! — 2 days ago

Jody Scharf

9.4

diversity of reviews, interesting read,
me, ...dark fruits, smooth, light acid, mellow palate..delicious! — a month ago

Traci

10

👍👍 Consistently amazing cab. Absolutely delicious, fruit-forward, balanced tannins, perfection on the palate. I could drink this one anytime, anywhere. No complaints. — a month ago

Raul Puga

9.4

So good. I need to drink more from this producer — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.7

Of all the American red wines that participated in the Judgement of Paris, it could be argued that Monte Bello has shown the greatest propensity to age. In fact, I would go as far as it requires lengthy cellaring to extract its best. I’ve had the good fortune to drink a number of tremendous vintages of Monte Bello over the last several years and this one has got to be at or near the top of the lot.

Opened and poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1991 Monte Bello pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core moving out towards a light ruby rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) with gorgeous notes of ripe and tart black currants, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, some purple flowers, dill, mint, leather, earth, vanilla and associated baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. The structure remains tremendous which again, seems to indicate youth. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is super long and immensely satisfying. This is one of those wines that will outlive most humans. Drinking well now with a short decant but this has the gas to see 2061 with ease. — 14 days ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.4

Label was gone so you'll all just have to believe me that this was a Cheval blanc 🤣. Very far along with leather, mushroom and forest floor flavours. Great wine from a poor vintage — a month ago