Chateau Montelena, Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

slow boxed all the wines I contributed for about 6 hours. It made a huge difference. This blossomed with blackberry flavor that was very perfumed. This was my WOTN.

1995 vintage

11 years since we had this before ( Papies 93) and all these years later still felt so young and had a cold feel to it almost not willing to open up and age. Definitely the extraction and ripeness put into this is a block to its expression complexity but tha been said is very well mannered and polished. But where is the excitement. 92

1995 vintage

As good as it is going be…drink up

2012 vintage

Still good nose with cassis, tobacco and dark fruit. Deep purple color but starting to lighten at the rim. Mature but nowhere near over the hill on the palate. An excellent wine.

1995 vintage

Is good pnp, but much better after 3h decant!

1995 vintage

Soft and beautiful. Nice long finish

2012 vintage

At the top of its game, aromatic and delicious. Last of my case... booo! No hurry, but it is difficult to wait for any of these old Montelenas.

1995 vintage

[Decanted about 6pm.] Loads of blackberries and black currants in the nose. First sip shows some tannins and plenty of black fruit, tar, and spice. Silky, rich, very long. Great with porterhouse. 9pm: Long, smooth, just gorgeous, classic Montelena Estate Cab. For me, the essence of Napa Cab.

1995 vintage

Not as vibrant as it could be.

1995 vintage

Still has good color and nose no brown at the edges flavor still appealing, but definitely on the way to decline

1995 vintage

Opened and drank over 90 minutes without any decanting. We essentially did a PNP and it was quite enjoyable. You could almost see through the glass as the wine. Plenty of bricking. More air time might have allowed this to reveal a bit more. Have a number of bottles remaining and at 30 years old it's closer to the end than the middle.

1995 vintage

An interesting blend of mature flavors without completely losing fruit. Montelena excels at this.. But at this age things gets spotty. This wine excelled - but I have a lot of Montelena in my cellar, and several nearly adjacent vintages have gone over the edge into worn out. This and the 1987 still doing well, others not so well.

1995 vintage

Drinking very nicely, not really showing much age yet, years to go, but in a great place right now.

1995 vintage

Drank over 3 nights, but best on first. Nice cassis, some graphite and plum. Medium-length finish. Easy to drink, and with enough complexity to make it a little interesting.

2012 vintage

Going strong, great cab

2012 vintage

Drank last night. The wine has surprisingly kept a lot of its body, fruit and intensity. It perfectly complemented the brisket that we had alongside. Beautiful color and very pleasing to the palate. I decanted for two hours and poured it back into the bottle. It took about 20 minutes in the glass to totally open up and it was delcious.

1995 vintage

very fresh, bordeaux-like, with nice structure and good fruit. enjoyed.

1995 vintage

Double decanted off its sediment and poured a little over an hour later. Light crimson color with notes of black fruit and leather with a good bit of brett underneath. There's also something that hints at TCA but I'm not absolutely certain of it and there's no sign of it the following day (TCA usually worsens the longer a wine sits). So I'll chalk this up to being a poor example and hope our final bottle shows better.

1995 vintage

As others have commented, while definitely no spring chicken this wine is still in very full bloom, with rich fruit (most red) that gains weight with air, smooth-ish tannins (still not 100% resolved) and only a modest amount of secondary characteristics. Hardly bricking, this seems built to go a lot longer... Absolutely blows away other recent 90's Napa Cabs I've tried, including Beringer PR '93 & '94 and Far Niente '94.

1995 vintage

Last bottle, and I must say I’m glad they’re gone. This was the best of the lot, but these were about as inconsistent as they come. Still inky dark in color and showing no signs of bricking. Nose and palate of dark fruits with hints of chocolate.

2012 vintage

1995 Chateau Montelena, The Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Alc 14.1% Decanted about 45 min Very little sediment Still good color Powerful and silky and rich and earthy Like drinking velvet. Seamless Simply amazing. Mature but going strong Balanced $65 bought at release

1995 vintage

A wine that had us flabbergasted at its feisty nature from an otherwise expected gentle senior citizen. On the nose we got an aromatic wave of pepper, prunes, honey and begonias. The palate gets red fruit with nice acidity, chalkiness, cola notes and an old sweaty leather crescendo. Staggering.

1995 vintage

one hour

1995 vintage

Perfectly stored since release. Good cork. Gave this 6 hrs of slow ox followed by about 1.5 hrs in small decanter. In retrospect more would be advised. Dark garnet, very little meniscus. The fruit aromatics are predominantly of black cherry and cranberry, there are tertiary elements of old leather and wood present but not overwhelming. Flavors are more monolithic then broad, but the mouth feel is elegant,and balanced. Nice medium finish. There is more power and depth then roundness. This …

1995 vintage

L-M 정도의 탄닌, 전형적인 오크 바닐라 향이 많이 나오고 부드러움. 율러지가 조금 있어서 걱정했지만 우려와는 너무 달랐음, 제대로 잘 열려서 까쇼가 가진 전형적인 아로마가 폭발한듯, 13빈이 기대됨.

2012 vintage

Cork broke about half way out. Stored since release. Decanted over a few hours. More tertiary notes than primary as fruit has become more dried. Drinking nicely. For holding this so long was hoping to enjoy a bit more after so long. Will revisit again in a few years.

1995 vintage

Great example of mature varietal cab. Seemed to have lost a bit of vibrancy since the last bottle but still enjoyable.

1995 vintage

Old wines…sometimes they their fatigue is primary. And sometimes they rise up with nuance, balance, and maturity. Our bottle was the best of the latter. Drunk on a Sun night with a simply prepared sirloin tip roast. Old world leaning in flavor profile - faint blue fruits, more graphite and tobacco. Somehow there was still a freshness on top of fully integrated tannins. A wonderful bottle.

1995 vintage

it still has a strong structure to go on for another 5 years easily. 2 hrs of decanting wasn't enough.... really good

2012 vintage

Holiday Champagne Gala (Park Ridge Country Club) : Small taste. Something was off here.

1995 vintage

Pop and pour Rustic, earthy, and chewy—good just not pleasurable. Barely any fruit. Bought on release and perfect storage. This just didn’t hold up.

1995 vintage

After finding a bottle of 98 corked, this was next in line. This definitely needs some air, but given 3 hours in a decanter, it’s a beautiful wine Plenty of rich fruit, great length and still time ahead of it.

1995 vintage

Drinking like a well-made elegant wine. Very enjoyable.

2012 vintage

Popped and poured. Cassis and chocolate aromas. Medium tannins with a soft, velvety texture and flavors of currant, plum and chocolate.

2012 vintage

This was a great bottle with the right preparation. I opened and aerated for a bit end poured myself half a glass. It was for the hour or so I tried to drink it thin and metallic. I didn’t finish the glass. This was a costly bottle so I put the cork back in thinking I will come back later and give it another go. Two days later, wow. This was now thick and rich with blueberry and raspberry flavors …

2012 vintage

Surprisingly lite bodied, well integrated tannins, and on the dry side. Quite enjoyable, but not what I was expecting from past vintages.

2012 vintage

Probably hit this at its peak - no brown edges, deep full grape taste; not much fruit distinguishable, but the blending of flavors was a pleasant plus. We have 2 more bottles and intend to enjoy them soon.

2012 vintage

Virtual tasting with Chateau Montelena with cheese & salami pairings: This wine was not part of the pairing kit we received from Chateau Montelena, but we wanted to pull it out for our friends to compare against against the more youthful 2018 Cab. This was the clear bottle of the night.

2012 vintage

Translucent ruby in the glass. Subtle nose with notes of dark red/black fruits, baking spice and hints of mocha. Finish is seamless and balanced with no significant tannins. Paired well with perfectly cooked NY Strip Per ALettTC - Tart fruit, spicy nose. Rich full dark fruit with notes of chocolate, cocoa and coffee. Spicy finish

2012 vintage

Much lighter in style for Chateau Montelena

2012 vintage

Hamman ranch

2012 vintage

Drank alongside a 2012 Groth which was preferred. This was much lighter, thinner and less structure. A little more fruit on the front end than the Groth, but the fruit faded after about a 2 hour decant. I would drink this now if you have, don't see it improving anymore.

2012 vintage

Good full flavor and not too tannic. Could have been more complex but this was a very solid wine

2012 vintage

Drinking like a 30+ years old Bordeaux. 13.5% ABV.

1995 vintage

Modern style and fruit forward. A lot of cherry cola and licorice. Not enough earth, spice or sense of place. Not bad with burgers, but a little too much in the sweet side with a lack of personality.

2012 vintage

Last bottle. When I think about the cost, and reflect what else is out there from other parts of the world I will likely shy away from California Cabs. See better value and personality in Italian and Spanish.

2012 vintage

Big disappointment as I was expecting so much more. If tasted blind, I would have guessed middle-end Barbara - $20 wine. So while it was a good Barbara, it was a not so good Napa Cabernet. Day 2 update. Much improved over last night. Some Cabernet characteristics starting to emerge. Still a bit on the lighter side, although it did gain some weight. Score based on day 2.

2012 vintage

Mistake inv

2012 vintage

Light flavors and color for a can. Cherries and stone fruit.

2012 vintage

Decanted this for about 45 minutes prior to serving and it really did well. The nose is very elegant for this price point. It has lots of dark brooding fruit, blackberries, blueberries, and a hint of leather. While I was pouring it into the decanter, I was surprised at how "watery" it looked. The palate is medium bodied, tannins are nicely integrated, it is smooth and offers a decent finish. It is not trying to be any fancier or upstage …

2012 vintage

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Chateau Montelena, Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

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