The 2019 Monte Bello is a wild, exotic wine. Huge, soaring aromatics meld into a core of heady, exotically ripe fruit. Not a shy wine by any means, the 2019 is atypically opulent, and yet all of the classic Monte Bello structure is there, underneath all of that fruit. The 2019 needs time in bottle to shed its baby fat, but there is a lot to look forward to. I imagine it will always be a pretty exuberant wine. Inky red fruit, blood orange, espresso, sweet American oak, cedar and pipe tobacco leave a lasting impression. In a word: magnificent!

Opaque ruby color with ripe cassis, plum and red currant fruit, toasty oak, vanilla, fennel, juniper berry and bay laurel. Well-integrated velvety tannins, full mid-palate, firm acid, and a long, sumptuous finish. JO (3/21)

Classically styled, dry farmed pinot Noir from the next mountain top to Mount Eden winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where some of California's most historic Pinot was propagated in the 1940's by Martin Ray. This gorgeous Pinot is smooth and savory with a nod to the old world. Medium ruby color, complex, earthy red fruit nose, this wine has suave texture on the palate with richness and balancing elegance.