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  • Country ranking ?

    553
  • Producer ranking ?

    34
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    Now

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The Story

Jim Barrett’s dream of Chateau Montelena was that this wine, their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, achieve the balance and complexity of flavors, aromas and textures to be considered among the great examples of Cabernet in the world. Almost since his first vintages in the 1970s, this wine has been a show-stopper that has everything in place, while revealing the majesty and distinctive character of the estate vineyard site in the northern Napa are...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

The 2007 vintage saw a fine, temperate growing season with earlier than average bud-break that translated into an earlier than average harvest. The growing conditions throughout the summer were near ideal - mostly moderate days and cool nights with the occasional hot day, but no prolonged heat. The cool nights kept the pH low, and just before we began harvest, a stretch of hot weather brought the flavors, sugars, and pH into the optimal range. Once again, Mother Nature came through for us.
 
Fruit quality was excellent and harvest was near-average in volume with no big surprises. We had good timing throughout with a nice, steady pace – press two, fill two. In any kind of farming, normal is good - normal is what you want. Here at Chateau Montelena, normal is excellent, so I’m happy to report that 2007 was a very normal year.
 
The rich, dense color of deep-purple garnet hints at the big extraction in this wine. It is complex and inviting on the nose, with richly layered aromas of black cherry and black currant, anise, pie spice, caramel, cocoa, and a slight hint of leather and earth. A full, soft entry loaded with bright ripe red fruit opens the palate. With very nice weight and balance throughout, there is a good, crisp acidity and the abundance of Montelena’s hallmark silky tannins give a round slightly chewy mouthfeel. Layers of fruit and barrel spice persist throughout the long, intense finish.

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Information

Origin

Calistoga, Napa Valley
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