($120; 85% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot and 7% petit verdot) Full ruby-red. Knockout nose offers blackberry, currant, plum, cedar, minerals and dark chocolate. Fresh, succulent and quite firm in the mouth, with brisk acids and a minty nuance lifting the dark berry and chocolate flavors. Finishes with chewy tannins that come across as a bit less harmonious than those of the young 2004. But this youthfully closed wine grew sweeter with aeration.

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Very hot end to the season resulting in some 15% Merlot with residual sugar – a year remarkably similar in some ways to Europe’s 2003 vintage.Bright crimson. Complex, spicy nose. Sweet, rich and velvety – not that unlike 2003 bordeaux – but the very obvious tannins have been well managed and are not quite as aggressive as they tend to be in Europe. Great lift. Quite polished. Not the alcoholic strength.

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The dense ruby-hued 2003 Monte Bello offers a tight but promising nose of tar, briery creme de cassis, toast, and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, with abundant tannin, a rich texture, and a deep, persistent style, this youthful, primary red is best forgotten until 2010.

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