Wine Advocate (WA) Review
WA
95
Proprietor Riccardo Cotarella's 1997 Montiano vino da tavola (100% Merlot, bottled unfined and unfiltered after spending 12 months in new French oak) is fabulous. It displays multiple layers that build in the mouth, exploding at the back of the palate. From its opaque purple color, the huge sweet notes of chocolate, smoke, black fruits, and toast satiate the olfactory senses, yet please the mind's intellectual yearnings. Pure and powerful, yet brilliantly knit together with no hard edges and no sense of high alcohol or heaviness, this sensational wine is one of the finest Merlots made in Italy. Production was 1,000 cases. Anticipated maturity: now-2014.
Wine Spectactor (WS) Review
WS
91
A sexy and very polished Italian red. Dark, with mint, cherry, tobacco and vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, fruity, minty aftertaste. Pure Merlot.
