Daniel Ciolek

8.9

The nose bursts and fills the room with strawberry and spiced dark cherry aroma. The palace pops with a dense fruit forward and mild spiciness. I would have thought it was primarily a Zinfandel but the label says no - it only has Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The finish is moderately long and well balanced. I lean towards more earthy old world earthy profiles and this is a much more new world fruit forward wine than I prefer. — a month ago

Seth Masterson

9.3

This is very impressive stuff- it has more wild raspberry notes and almost black fruit notes on this one and some garigue/herbal tones. The aromas are just erupting from the glass as soon as its poured. There's a raw and wild essence to it while retaining the sophistication of Sam's other Pinots. — 6 months ago

romo

9.1

Clean, if basic. Versatile. — 6 months ago

Carter White

9.1

Light with a red fruit and black pepper combo, goes down easy. — 2 months ago

Andrea C

8.9

Goes down easily. Dry. Fresh. — 4 months ago

Daniel Ciolek

9.1

Monte De Oro seems to be finally dialing in their Cabernet. The bottle says 80% Cabernet, 10% Petit Verdot and 10% Malbec. Barrel aged 40 months. On opening it was so very drinkable with layers of complex flavors. The tannins were surprisingly smooth and slightly on the sweeter side with spice, raspberry and strawberry with maybe some dark cherry and chocolate - and it was medium to full bodied without being dense. The finish was smooth. Three days later it transformed into a mellow earthy - almost mossy texture of an old world Italian Sangiovese or Nebbiolo.- based wine. Fun bottle. — 6 months ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

8.9

Interesting wine. Nutty 25 year old Vermentino. Hazelnut, chanterelle herbs de Provence. Perfect cheese white. — 8 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Solid vintage of this consistent Chianti. Dark ruby color with some garnet inflections. Aromas of dark berries, violets, baking spices and toasty oak. Blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors with hints of menthol, dark chocolate, dried beef and dried herbs. Long finish. Medium-plus bodied with plenty of structure and intensity. Bright acidity and moderate (but well balanced) tannins. Solid! — 2 months ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.4

Dreamy is the word that comes to mind as the 2018 Vigna la Miccia Marsala Superiore Oro wafts up with a decadent blend of roasted almonds and hazelnuts, complicated by gingery spice and baked peaches. This opens with a pretty inner sweetness and oily textures that are perfectly offset by notes of spiced citrus, cloves, cedar and a bitter tinge of coffee grounds. It cleans up beautifully, ridiculously long and staining yet still fresh, leaving hints of cocoa and butterscotch to linger on the finish. (Eric Guido, Vinous, June 2024)
— 5 months ago

Daniel Ciolek

9.0

Fig and spice on the nose. Pleasant jammy strawberry, fig and holiday spice on the palate with balanced acidity and subtle slightly tingling tannins. Would work well as a dessert wine paired with vanilla ice cream/zinfandel drizzle. — 7 months ago