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 2009 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. "Bright yellow. Lively aromas of apple, citrus fruit, mint and licorice. Juicy and vibrant, with almost painful mid-palate cut. Still youthfully tight, but this no-malo chardonnay displays good underlying density. The persistent finish shows good cut. Clearly the product of a moderately cool growing season. Montelena's chardonnay is vinified to dryness in tank, then ages for several months in 10% new oak, on the fine lees but without stirring. I suspect this will evolve slowly." 90 points, Int'l Wine Cellar, May/June 2011 "Speaking of non-malolactic, the reserved 2009 Chardonnay exhibits delicate pear and honeysuckle notes as well as crisp, fresh acidity, medium body and a steely purity. This is often referred to as the Ric Forman style, but Montelena has been doing it as long as Ric has (as have such legendary wineries as Stony Hill). " 89 points, Wine Advocate, Dec 2010

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 The 2007 growing season started early thanks to a warm, dry March which resulted in early bud break. The month of April cooled down and brought two inches of welcome rain, setting up very good early season growing conditions. The cool, dry weather in May was great for bloom, and there was less shatter than normal this year. Summer was also kind. It was consistently warm with only a few heat spikes, until a strong heat wave rolled in at the end of August and lasted through the beginning of September, bringing highs in the 100's and giving the grapes a good shove towards ripeness. Thankfully, the heat subsided, leaving excellent ripening conditions throughout September and October. "Deep ruby. Medicinal blackberry and licorice on the nose, plus a whiff of band-aid. Densely packed and sweet on entry, then juicy and tight in the mid-palate, with a slightly metallic medicinal quality to the dark berry and bitter chocolate flavours. The edgy tannins call for at least 12 to 18 months of patience. This is mostly from purchased fruit but also includes some declassified estate fruit. Bo Barrett told me he looks for "a football-shaped palate." 88 (+?)points, Int'l Wine Cellar, May/June 2010

Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 The Montelena Estate "A great wine in the making, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (just under 10,000 cases produced) possesses a fragrant bouquet of sweet black currants, crushed rocks, earth and background oak. Full-bodied and dense, with Montelena's typical power, tannin and reserved nature, this is a big, rich, formidably endowed red that requires 4-5 years of cellaring. That in itself is atypical of this exuberant, flamboyant vintage. Given this cuve´'s past history, this 2007 should age for 30+ years. " 94+ points, Wine Advocate, Dec 2010

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