Bruno Besa: Dark core to tawny rim. Developed, overripe, black-fruit nose. Dried-out, green palate. 80

Andrew Jefford: Dark, clear black-red. Sweet, lifted, warm yet slightly mono-dimensional aromas, lacking aromatic resource and depth. Ditto on the palate. It’s a wine with balance, poise, and depth, but is relatively simple in its articulation and lacks finesse. 84

Michael Palij: Monforte appears to suffer in hot vintages, when the fruit takes on a stewed character and we are left with very ripe fruit, high alcohol, and not much subtlety. This is true of this wine, where the generous fruit appears to be lost in the sea of tannins. I’ve reported this often during the tasting, as it seems that an absence of fruit is largely to blame for a lack of balance. 88