In spirit of recent 2022 offer discussion (and hopefully pending delivery of last 2022 offer), I opened a 2013 Montecillo last night. Was excellent and as many note, very different than other California cabs which are often heavilly oaked. This wine developed nicely and was best at the end after 5-6 hours in the decanter. I am not good with notes, but it was nice complex fruits and evolving character over the hours. My last glass - I was like damm this is good.
I searched and didn’t find a “what Beta are you drinking” thread so thought I would start one (Moderators if I missed it, please merge this into it). I have been on the list since the 2011 release and I have 1 2012 and one 2013 left and then many of the different wines since 2014 … would be interesting to see notes as people try these to help guide us all on which are drinking well and which may benefit from time.
Wholeheartedly agree. I opened a 13 Monty for @Rohit_B about a year ago, and it showed beautifully. Ketan takes it to another level in excellent vintages.
Last May, we had the 2017 Vare and enjoyed it with no regrets. This is my note from CellarTracker:
This was perhaps the lightest-colored Cabernet I’ve ever seen, also light-bodied and impressively low in alcohol (12.3%). But, for all that, it packs a wallop – great intensity and complexity of aroma and flavor. For me, that combination of lightness and intensity is the Holy Grail. In other words, this wine is fabulous. I was worried that the wine might be closed and so I opened it 24 hours ahead, but we could have drunk it happily right away. It may improve with more time, but you can open this bottle now with no anxiety.
According to CT I’m one of about two dozen brave souls who have opened a Jasud. Here is my note on the 2022 Jasud from last Christmas Eve:
Lovely floral nose. Beautiful purity of fruit, raspberry and cassis. Bright acidity, tannins present, but not obtrusive. Outstanding now with a bit of air, this will only get better with time.
We are happy to announce the release of Beta wines from the 2023 vintage coming Tuesday October 13th, at 8AM PST. This release will include our Montecillo, Glass Rock, and Maus Cabernets.
Allocations will be held for 24 hours for those who have previously purchased. All remaining wines will be released on Wednesday October 14th, at 8AM PST, on a first come, first serve basis.
Would love to better understand the roadmap for Beta - no Maus beyond this release, I think no more SCM (?), adding Morisoli. So what do the next few years look like?
Ended up opening one last night. Double decanted in the morning - first several hours was completely shut down, just cigar box and mint. Palate started to open up around the 5-6 hour mark with more typical Coombsville traits - blueberry, blackberry, wet stone. Kind of reminded me of a leaner version of DiCo’s Caldwell. Around the 10hr mark, it really started to open up and fill out - sweet cherry now intermingled with the other notes. Excited to follow the rest of the bottle tomorrow.
UPDATE: Day 2 nose has caught up to the palate and a more full and smooth mouthfeel.
Overall, I liked it and was just a tick below a recent '22 Marianas. However, IMHO I would ignore the couple CT notes about this being open as a PNP. If opening in the near future, I would treat this like any other Beta/Jasud with a lot of air.
Had the ‘21 Placida Chardonnay last week and it was incredibly tropical. Total change from my other bottle. Had a distinct mango fruitiness. Tasty but unexpected.
