Monte Rosso Estate The Impression 2023 (750ML)

95 Points, Jim Gordon, JamesSuckling.com: "A Bordeaux-style red blend sourced from a noted mountaintop vineyard. So rich, silky, relaxed and flavorful, offering generous black fruit, oak spices, graphite and cocoa on firm tannins. Based on cabernet franc, with cabernet sauvignon and malbec in smaller amounts. Great balance, structure and potential for aging. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now and best from 2030." 05/26

98 Points, Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter: "The Impression is Cabernet Franc-driven with Masal Selection Cabernet Sauvignon from Los Niños, a historic block from the vineyard, and some Malbec from the site. Fermented in SS, and aged for 16 months in barriques (45% new). Wow, that’s a fantastic Cabernet Franc-driven wine with the ripe, lifted savoury notes of Monte Rosso that come through as pure sagebrush, hand tobacco, rose petal, and rose stem nuances. The depth and freshness are incredible. The wine is decisively red-fruited, with these gorgeous avocet notes layered through with an intensely fresh personality and the crisp apple skin and firm spiciness of juicy, grippy acidity that bring this impossibly bright freshness. Dark, dark, fruited and layered, and super complex. What a gorgeous debut wine. This new Monte Rosso brand, debuting with the 2023 vintage, is produced by Bernardino Sani, CEO and winemaker of the historic Argiano estate in Montalcino, Italy. Sani had long been eager to undertake a project in the United States. Diego Del Pino, the estate director, was brought in to build out luxury sales with Gallo and brings a strong background in high-end luxury products. Through Gallo’s import portfolio, Del Pino came to know Sani, and when given the opportunity to develop something distinctive and new within the Gallo universe, he chose to focus on Monte Rosso. The vineyard was originally developed by the Goldstein family before being purchased by the Martini family in 1938, who renamed it Monte Rosso. This 2023 release marks the first vintage of Monte Rosso wines produced as a standalone brand from this iconic site, with total production currently around 800 cases. Perched high above Sonoma Valley, Monte Rosso Vineyard is defined by iron-rich red volcanic soils and fractured rhyolite at elevation, delivering some of California’s most powerful yet distinctly mineral-driven mountain fruit." 12/25

95 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The 2023 The Impression is a blend of mostly Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, probably the first Franc-driven wine I have tasted from Monte Rosso. Aromatic, deep and complex, the 2023 is positively stellar. This is such an impressive debut, and yet my impression is that there is so much more to come as the team becomes more familiar with the vineyard. I predict a very bright future for this bottling. I won’t be surprised if this becomes the flagship wine here." 02/25