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  • Country ranking ?

    439
  • Producer ranking ?

    21
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    2020-2035

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The Story

The wines here at Chateau Montelena are often described as having classic “old-world” structure with ripe California fruit, and it is in years like 2010 that this really shines through. What that means is that these wines tend to have more acid, lower pH, and more moderate alcohol levels as compared to some of the flashy “modern” Cabs. This classic chemistry allows them to pair very well with a wide variety of dishes and sets them up for grace...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

With apologies to Mr. McGuire in the movie The Graduate: “I just want to say one word to you.  Just one word – Cabernet.”  Heed the advice, this is a not-to-miss wine.  The year 2009 was the first of three cool vintages.  Montelena had a long, very moderate growing season and a long steady harvest, which allowed for fantastic flavor development in all their Cabernet vineyards.

The cooler weather throughout the summer made for great growing conditions and then, in September, there was just enough warmth to bring the fruit to full ripeness.  The absence of any major heat events during the harvest resulted in lower-than-normal sugars, great balance, and no issues with shriveling fruit – perfect conditions for the classic, Montelena style of wines.

This Cabernet is deep ruby in color with massive extraction and great density.  The nose opens with huge intensity, great depth, and lots of layers.  Big fruit aromas of black cherry, bright red berries, and plums all lead into the barrel notes of toasty oak, vanilla and a hint of creosote.  The palate entry opens smoothly and builds predictably with big, firm but fine tannin, good acid balance and lots of structure.  There is a great progression from ripe, sweet cherry and plum fruit up-front to rich, dried black fruit and spice on the finish, with the vanilla and spice from the barrel layering in seamlessly.  For a young wine, it is already showing quite well and will continue to improve over the next 10+ years.  This wine is definitely trying to seduce you – enjoy!

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Origin

Calistoga, Napa Valley
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