Ch. Montelena

It’s well-known that Chateau Montelena made history with its Chardonnay and wins frequent accolades for Cabernet Sauvignon. But the winery also produces a tasty Riesling with fruit from the organic McFadden Farm in Mendocino’s Potter Valley. Cool summer nights in the high-elevation vineyard allow Riesling grapes to ripen slowly, developing lovely aromas and rich flavors while maintaining excellent acidity. While 2021 was a warm and dry year, due to a prolonged drought, the wine is a surprise for its balance, finesse, and freshness. The fresh palate with only a whisper of sweetness makes this a versatile wine you can enjoy with lunch, dinner, or a friendly afternoon with family and friends. The floral notes and stone fruit aromas induce pleasure while the wine’s subtle balance of sweetness and acidity stands up to not only spicy Asian dishes but salads, blue or goat cheeses, sausages, or pork, turning any meal into an elegant event.

Chateau Montelena’s Sauvignon Blanc is a limited edition that usually requires a trip to the tasting room to purchase. The fruit is sourced from a 40-year-old vineyard in Oak Knoll, a cooler district south of Yountville known for its aromatic white wines. The vineyard includes a few rows of Semillon, which adds roundness, density, and honeyed richness to the zesty Sauvignon Blanc. In order to emphasize the purity of the fruit, the wine is made without malolactic fermentation and just a touch of oak aging. This is the wine for summer: lively and fresh with peach and tropical notes in the nose, zesty grapefruit, and a long, persistent finish. Enjoy this gem from the Napa Valley as an aperitif or with white fish, shellfish, sushi, or chicken braised in a white wine sauce.

Chateau Montelena’s excellent Chardonnay continues to be made in the elegant manner of the wine that won the infamous Paris tasting in 1972. Sourced from a small vineyard in the relatively cool Oak Knoll District, the wine enchants with a perfume of melon, fresh peach and floral notes and supple palate of mango, zesty citrus and chalky minerality. About this wine, Antonio Galloni said, “Medium in body, with terrific energy underpinning the fruit, the 2019 is a winner. Picking early and blocking the malolactic fermentation yields a finely sculpted, nuanced Chardonnay long on class. I loved it.” Fresh seafood — crab, oysters, mussels, clams or shrimp – would be a knockout pairing with this wine.

With the 2018 vintage, Chateau Montelena’s Estate Zinfandel has returned. Due to extensive replanting in 2012, subsequent vintages combined estate fruit with that from nearby vineyards to produce the wine they called Calistoga Zinfandel. However, the replanted blocks now produce enough fruit to make a wine sourced entirely from the estate's holdings of young and old vines. What's new, though, is that those blocks were replanted to Primitivo, the Zin clone with origins in Italy. While Primitivo and Zinfandel are genetically identical (and can be used synonymously on wine labels), the clones do produce wines with subtle yet distinct differences. As the winery puts it, “Classic, heritage Zinfandel is a match for Calistoga: slightly rustic, occasionally briary, but rich and full-bodied when ripe. Primitivo, conversely, leans toward the red side of the flavor spectrum with ample acidity and incredible freshness.” Like all Chateau Montelena wines, this Zin is made in an elegant style with moderate (14.2%) alcohol. No need for aging! Enjoy now!

Like Chateau Montelena’s Estate wines, the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from vineyards located around Calistoga, at the northern end of the Napa Valley. While this is a warmer part of the valley, the wine remains a model of restraint in every vintage, expressing balance and freshness instead of power. The secret to Chateau Montelena’s style lies in the vineyards, which all share a distinct alluvium soil profile that can produce earthy, complex and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. Restraint guides the winemaking, too, with less new oak and less time spent in oak than most high-end Napa cabs. In 2019, the blend consists of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot. The taste is classic Montelena: aromas of dark fruit and baking spices, a dense and chewy palate layered with a plethora of flavor, and a focused finish of savory notes that linger longer than one expects. Moderate alcohol (13.8% ABV) makes this wine the perfect partner for a range of dishes - not only grilled or roast meats but lighter dishes, too.

This iconic Napa Valley wine delivers the intensity we expect from a Napa Cab while showing the restraint, structure, tannin and acidity of an age-worthy Bordeaux. And like great Bordeaux, you wouldn’t regret owning several bottles for special occasions or just to savor once every few years. The Montelena Estate features mature, low-yielding vines planted in stony alluvial and volcanic soils. Because the vineyard avoided the Phylloxera that wiped out many vineyards in the early 1990s, these "old vines" are approaching their sixth decade. 2018 was one of those perfect Napa Valley vintages that began with bountiful spring rains and followed with a summer of warm days and unusually cool nights. The result is a sensory delight, from the complex aromatic interplay of fruit, spice and earth to the rich flavors framed inside Chateau Montelena’s recognizable minerality and structure. A few years of aging are recommended, or be sure to decant and allow the wine some time to open up.