Shay A

9.3

(Two previous 1983 vintage wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from CT).

My experiences with 1983s has been fairly positive, and this PL certainly is among the better I’ve had from the vintage. Holding color nicely with deep ruby and slight bricking around the rim. Started off a bit dense and muddled, but hit stride about 30mins later with a mix of red and black berry fruit, cassis, a streak of herbal green down the middle (something I always get with PL). Excellent example of the fruit showing lots of flavor without being overly ripe. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and still some vibrancy at the finish with tannin structure. Clean and elegant at this stage. Showed well over the course of two hours. Drink up and enjoy. — 5 days ago

Joe DAscoli

9.4

This wine had excellent dark fruit and tannins that maintain some grip and structure. You can tell this is mountain fruit.

Drank over 3 nights with argon preservation in the fridge.

Paired very well with manchego and also with chili.
— a month ago

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. — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.5

This Dunn Napa (quicker to evolve than the Howell Mountain) is drinking beautifully and is at peak, still shows a tad of that famous Dunn “structure”, long, lingering finish, terrific Napa Cabernet!! — 2 months ago

with Jim

Ericsson

9.5

In the glass, it’s a deep, opaque ruby, promising something serious. The nose has blackcurrant, cedar, and graphite, with a hint of dried herbs, dust and cigar box, like stepping into an old library. There’s restraint here, almost old school. No overripe fruit, no excess; just balance, precision.

On the palate, it’s all about structure. The tannins are firm but refined, holding together layers of dark fruit, espresso, and a touch of cocoa. The acidity is just enough to keep it fresh, cutting through the richness of it all. As the wine opens up, there’s a shift; an earthy, almost savory depth that lingers on a long, seamless finish. Could have saved it but it is peaking and paired perfectly with a thick cut of ribeyes over mesquite charcoal with great company and conversation. — 15 days 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. — a month ago

Vino Joe

9.6

Fantastic half bottle. Definitely in the zone now. Ripe fruit harmoniously weaved and great structure. Thoroughly impressive. — 2 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

No formal notes . Medium deep ruby , thinner rim. Quite deep and spicy nose , dark fruits , quite classic . On the palate quite dense , but rounded and suave tannin . Quite dense and meaty after a while , long and really well balanced , good length and a mineral , slate tinged finish. In this flight this was quite obvious as Latour , just the structure and density marked it out . This is a good Latour to enjoy at the moment , the tannin is polished, good freshness and density. No rush however I expect this to continue well for a least another decade , maybe more — 22 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1989 vintage. Opened but not decanted. Just got a (generous) side sample of this as I was entrenched with the weekly wine rep tastings. Tasted after 30 mins and one hour after opening. Definitely bretty (as expected) for the first tastes but that mostly dissipated by the end of the glass. Light-medium body with mostly bowed tannins initially. Longer it remained in the glass, the more the tannins came out to frolic. Still plenty of structure, fruit and front-palate intrigue (usually hidden/buried by tannins). Not improving at this point but-depending on storage and/or bottle size-still more than viable and deserving of massive respect. 01.29.25. — 24 days ago

Matthew Robinson

9.4

Opened the bottle several hours in advance. Great tannic structure, still lots of fruit and some secondary flavors; nothing tertiary yet. Try again in a few years but great now — 2 months ago