Chateau Montelena: Producing some of the most age worthy wines in the Napa Valley, Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernets are highly sought after by fine wine collectors. They are complex, rich, sophisticated wines that show well both young, and after years of aging. It should be noted however, that it was a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that played a significant role in helping put the California Wine Industry on the International Map. At the "Judgement of Paris" in 1976, the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay rated above all other American Chardonnay and French White Burgundy tasted by a respected panel of the French wine and food establishment in Paris.      

Chateau Montelena (10 Years Apart):

1987 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet - RP 98 - Chateau Montelena has made so many sensational Cabernets that it seems almost impossible to believe that their 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate could be even more profound than any of the exceptional wines made previously at this property. The black/purple color, the extraordinary bouquet of rich cassis, violets, and licorice, the massive extraction of flavors, sensational depth, super ripeness, and a length that must last over a minute, suggest to me that this is easily the most concentrated and potentially longest-lived Cabernet Sauvignon that Chateau Montelena has ever made. The extract level is incredible, yet the balance is there.

1997 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet - RP 98 - There are 10,200 cases of the remarkable 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Opaque purple-colored with a dense, chewy, full-bodied personality, it displays abundant cassis, mineral, and earth notes. This brilliantly made, super-concentrated, pure, blockbuster possesses sweet tannin as well as a terrific finish. Having added additional weight since last year, this sumptuous, multilayered, profoundly concentrated Cabernet contains 14% alcohol. It is a candidate for 25-30 years of longevity.