The flagship wine, the 2005 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate displays a lovely perfume of fresh herbs, loamy soil, black cherries, and black currants. Spicy and very Bordeaux-like in this vintage, with high tannins, a cool climate freshness, and a leaner personality than is found in riper vintages, it will benefit from 1-2 years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades or more. Chateau Montelena’s sale to the owners of Bordeaux’s well-known second-growth, Chateau Cos d’Estournel, fell through, no doubt because of the global economic crisis. It was unquestionably shocking that this Napa icon was on the block, and about to be sold to, of all people, the French, who Montelena had defeated in the famous Steven Spurrier tasting of 1976. Tasting through the wines with the ever reliable Bo Barrett is always a lesson in candor and honesty. Montelena’s negociant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, from northern vineyards in the Calistoga area, is meant to represent a Montelena house style, but it is much softer and less ageworthy, thus is the ideal restaurant/steakhouse wine.Tel. (707) 942-5105; Fax (707) 942-4221
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