2003 Monte Bello

The 2004 Monte Bello opens in the glass with classic aromas of cigar box, spice and crushed red and black currant fruit, revealing little obvious trace of its time in new oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied but still quite tightly wound, with a firm chassis of fine-grained tannins and a bright line of acidity that seem to demand further cellaring... It's a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. (WK) 92+

I've had better bottles, but as it approaches its 15th birthday, the 2003 Monte Bello is beginning to look like one of the weaker vintages of the new millennium—and certainly of this tasting—exhibiting rich and already evolved aromas of roasted dark fruit that include hints of fig and prune, as well as classic nuances of cigar wrapper and espresso roast. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied and still structured around rich tannins, balanced by bright acids, but it's showing more evolution than the 2002 or the 2004 vintages that bookend it. Baugher believes that he may have picked prematurely in this vintage, suggesting that phenolics were out of sync with sugars. The blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, and it attained 13.2% natural alcohol.

Just beginning to enter its early plateau of maturity, the 2004 is in a beautiful spot right now. Sweet tobacco, smoke, cedar, licorice and leather meld into a core of dark fruit. The 2004 won't last forever, but it does have enough depth to age beautifully for the another decade, perhaps more. A distinctly floral/savory finish rounds things out nicely. (AG)