Chateau Montelena Napa Valley

In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California in the forefront of world-class winemaking. That year a who's-who of the French wine and food community gathered for a blind-tasting in Paris. When the scores were tallied, the French Judges were convinced the top-ranked white wine was one of their own. In fact, it was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay. Time magazine heralded this event with an article titled "Judgment of Paris." Over thirty years later, few wineries anywhere in the world can boast a record of consistency comparable to Chateau Montelena. "I can think of only three wineries that were making fabulous Cabernet Sauvignons in 1973 that have continued to make great wines, with no qualitative slumps through 1995 - Caymus Vineyard, Ridge, and Chateau Montelena. Remarkably, there is not a bad vintage of Chateau Montelena to be found..." Robert Parker.

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2006 Since 2000 the winery team has farmed most of their own Chardonnay vineyards. The sources have not changed, only that they now have direct control over each and every decision, from pruning to harvest. This means they can apply the same winemaking-in-the-vineyard attention to detail that they do at the Montelena Estate. A new Diemme press, specially constructed to process whole clusters, was installed and they began night picking their Chardonnay for the best juice ever. All of this allows them to enhance the fruit flavours in the wine yet avoid roughness or astringency from extraction. Also, their careful winemaking allows cellar aging in the barrel, unfined and unfiltered. They remain true to the Montelena style: no malo-lactic fermentation, little if any yeast stirring, judicious use of new oak, purity of fruit and fine balance. "Montelena's non-malo Chardonnay hasn't changed in 30 years, and they certainly deserve credit for that. It rarely sees more than 20% new oak, and in certain vintages can age remarkably well. The 2005 exhibits beautiful precision, hints of granny smith apples, lemon zest and a touch of orange rind, with medium body, zesty acidity, but suprising intensity and flavour." 91 points, Robert Parker, Dec 2007

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 The mild and uneventful 2005 vintage presented ideal ripening weather. The winemakers anticipated optimal crop yields, juice quality, fruit flavours and chemistry. And because this overall weather pattern essentially extended the growing season, harvest began much later than average. But once the pickers finally ripped into the red grapes there was a massive "tsunami" of them: Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot! A solid and steady picking schedule, with a daily crush of 13 to 40 tons, continued for 18 days. It was an awesome period of ideal weather and harvest activity, during which the winery took in an amazing 473 tons of fruit. "The winery continues to turn out a strong Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in the Calistoga area. This is a big production item (10,000 cases), and tends to be a good value for a high-class Napa Cabernet. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (22,000 cases) is a beauty. Savoury black currant fruit notes intermixed with some licorice, underbrush, and spice jump from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, smoothly textured, beautifully elegant wine meant to be served and drunk in its first 10-12 years of life. This clearly has the fingerprints of Chateau Montelena's Bo Barrett and his father Jim Barrett, but at a much lower price point, and for that reason seems an ideal steakhouse Cabernet that gives both value and pleasure." 90 points, Robert Parker, Dec 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 The Montelena Estate "Good deep ruby-red. Complex aromas of currant, licorice, graphite, bitter chocolate, smoked meat, tobacco and brown spices. Began juicy, penetrating and quite youthfully unevolved, but aeration brought a suppler, rounder texture and more generosity to this impressively structured wine. Complicating notes of bitter cherry, menthol and minerals. This will require a good eight to ten years of aging but the substantial tannins are sweet and lush. Very long, pure and powerful on the finish. Barrett compared this to top previous vintages like 1986 and 1997, the latter, he admitted, "a brett wine."" 93+ points, Stephen Tanzer, May/June 2008

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