Benchmark Wines by

Chateau Montelena

The Winery

Chateau Montelena

“There is something reassuring about seeing a bottle of Chateau Montelena. This classic, old Napa Valley winery is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, but they can also fashion wonderful Chardonnay from the Alexander and Napa valleys.”
-Robert Parker

Chateau Montelena is one of the most prominent and oldest Napa Valley wineries tracing its origins back to 1882. This winery is now under the ownership of the Barrett family and they are particularly famous for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Thanks to the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting where Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay outranked France’s best white burgundies. This seminal event helped put California in the forefront of the wine world. Today, the Barrett family continues to produce the finest wines in California and to be the benchmark of quality.

www.montelena.com

1995
8 In Stock
750ml
WA94
V92
WS92
CT92
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Tasting Notes

WA94
At the winery, I rated the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate one point below what I gave it in the blind tasting. Nevertheless, my notes on both tastings are nearly identical. This is another winery where the 1995 may be as strong as the 1994. The color is an opaque purple. The wine is full-bodied and powerful, with classic notes of cassis intermixed with loamy soil scents, underbrush, and spice. There is massive body and elevated, but sweet tannin that is well-integrated with the wine`s other components, a blockbuster mid-palate, and a finish that lasts for 30+ seconds. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025.
WS92
Not as dense and concentrated as the 1994, but still a tremendous wine. Elegant and rich, with currant, cherry, cookie dough and vanilla-scented oak.

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