Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Chateau Montelena’s history is one of the deepest and most storied in the Napa Valley and California. Founded just north of Calistoga by a senator and San Francisco entrepreneur in 1882 at the turn of the century, it was one of the largest wineries in the state. Prohibition put an end to Montelena’s winemaking, and the next major era began in 1968, when Jim Barrett purchased the estate. Jim fell in love with this exceptional property, blessed with a complex mix of soils, slopes and biodiversity of wildlife and fauna. He had a dream of creating wine at the level of the great First Growths of Bordeaux, and set about replanting the vineyard, outfitting the winery with modern equipment, and studying the processes necessary for farming and winemaking at the highest quality level.

Chateau Montelena's wines possess gorgeous potential when young, and are even better when revisited later. The 1984 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits the forward, jammy, cassis, and other black fruit character of the vintage, marvelously rich, full-bodied, concentrated flavors, high extract, gobs of glycerin, and moderate tannin in the finish. Its virtues - purity, richness, and opulence - along with a firm underpinning of tannin.