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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.8 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 54 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/2/2024 & rated 90 points: Red berry with with pepper and briary overtones. Integrated and balanced. (255 views) | | | Tasted by Query on 6/9/2023: Decant. Really opens after an hour. Lighter Zin that can be had with or without food. (438 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 5/28/2023 & rated 92 points: 42nd Annual Zinfandel Retrospective - the 2015s (R&D's): Double decanted off its sediment and served with dinner 3.5 hours later. Light red color. Aromas of red berry fruit, cherry and white currants with floral undertones. Balanced. Elegant. Flavors of cherry, currants and pepper. No need to rush on these, though it is drinking beautifully now. (680 views) | | | Tasted by ernie237 on 10/15/2021: Nice blend with or without food (1350 views) | | | Tasted by Lefty’s Writes on 9/23/2021 & rated 85 points: Last bottle. Server with some filled chicken and veg. Perfectly fine - not as big as I remembered A bit hot when opened but opened up nicely in 30 min or so. If you have it, I’d drink it soon (1309 views) | | | Tasted by mdvillaverde on 8/8/2021 & rated 88 points: 14.4% abv. PnP. Ripe fruit with cedar and pepper notes but not a lot going on here. (1468 views) | | | Tasted by Alex Brogan on 3/3/2021 & rated 83 points: The fruit struggles to break through the Oak on this. Cocoa, spice and pepper is there. All secondary stuff. (1454 views) | | | Tasted by Roman Empire on 10/10/2020 & rated 88 points: I’d suggest nicely in its drinking window. Not a jammy zin though just bright enough at front to get your attention. A little high in alcohol but styles down as it opened up over time. This is a strong value wine given big taste and decent price. Paired with Mexican food outside and a fire pit setting. Very good wine (1522 views) | | | Tasted by tedcholl on 4/4/2020 & rated 90 points: My last bottle of this excellent Zin, I love a good Zinfandel with pepperoni pizza. Spice with spice, higher alcohol, sweetness with savory. Love Italian,especially Chianti Classico with pizza but I encourage you to try Zin and pepperoni pizza pairing as well. (1420 views) | | | Tasted by Tahlequahdave1972 on 4/2/2020 & rated 90 points: So atypical for a California Zin. Rich, full and yet not jammy, with just enough of a sweet element to maintain interest. Not our preferred varietal, except when it comes across so smooth and elegant. Wonderfully crafted wine that is ready to drink now! (1314 views) | | | Tasted by tedcholl on 3/7/2020 & rated 90 points: Continue to love this Zin from Chateau Montelena. So smooth and refined without the jamminess and string pepper notes of most Zins. A great Saturday pairing with my pepperoni pizza. (1232 views) | | | Tasted by RojoVino24 on 2/23/2020 & rated 89 points: Needed about an hour to open up. Still strong for this old of a Zin. Had it along with a 2018 Baletto Zin. Color orange/brown at the rim but stood side by side on the nose with the 18. Good fruit, jammy! (1104 views) | | | Tasted by tedcholl on 2/22/2020 & rated 90 points: One of my go to Zinfandels, always enjoyable and well made and the extra age has balanced and smoothed out this wine. Medium bodied juicy blackberries, cola, espresso, and baking spice. Glad to have more bottles! (962 views) | | | Tasted by tedcholl on 2/1/2020 & rated 90 points: One of my favorite Zinfandels to pair with my homemade from scratch Saturday pepperoni and sausage pizza. I enjoy the fresh blackberry, vanilla, and some said coconut flavors. This zin is not overly jammy nor overly spicy. 14.4 abv. (715 views) | | | Tasted by SPfromTX on 1/4/2020 & rated 93 points: Awesome, balanced, fruit forward, classic zin (770 views) | | | Tasted by bestdamncab on 7/10/2019 & rated 89 points: Chateau Montelena at the Westin Hotel, San Francisco (Westin Hotel, San Francisco, Ca.): Noe of plum and mint, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, touch old tasting, and a medium/long finish. (1421 views) | | | Tasted by Bhohne on 6/22/2019 & rated 90 points: Great with salmon (1097 views) | | | Tasted by muehmm on 4/29/2019: Smooth tasting Zinfandel with honts of chocolate. Berries, and a hint of pepper. 93 points. (987 views) | | | Tasted by Bhohne on 12/2/2018 & rated 91 points: Great after 15-20 minutes (1141 views) | | | Tasted by kr522 on 6/19/2018 & rated 90 points: Easy drinking wine, with deep berries and dark cherry, and not made in an overrripe style. Missing the Zin spiciness and complexity, for now at least (1930 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 1/27/2018 & rated 86 points: 4th Saturday Brown Bagger (Sue's): Single blind. Garnet color, with notes of earthy red fruit. Red fruit on the palate, turning slightly austere through the finish. The acidity is a bit much. Guessed Bordeaux. (2005 views) | | | Tasted by wcf1946 on 1/5/2018 & rated 86 points: Nothing special. WAY OVERPRICED. Dark color and fruit, little finish. Smooth and balanced, but flat tasting. Also doesn't taste like most traditional CA Zins. (1704 views) | | | Tasted by Colpete on 10/22/2017 & rated 95 points: The best pizza wine I've ever had (1794 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 7/17/2017: Earthy and black fruited, rich, with lots of drive and energy. (2387 views) | | | Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 2/15/2017 & rated 82 points: Medium minus ruby color.
Overripe cherry, blueberry, dried cranberry, dried flowers. Classic millerandage.
Sweet with alcohol and fruit, elevated acid and medium tannins. A bit hot and bitter on the finish but overall well put together and very typical of CA zin. Feels around 15% (14.4%). (1620 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Chateau Montelena Producer website
Very DETAILED history of the property
From winery:
What’s not to like about the weather in 2018? The late spring rains in March and April were very productive and the vines responded with plentiful growth into summer. Unusually low nighttime temperatures coupled with warm to hot days magnified the acidity in the fruit, creating elegant structure for extending aging, rather than overtly jammy flavor. Harvest was slow and methodical as subtle variations in soil and sun exposure magnified the typically nuanced differences in ripening and maturation.
NOSE PALATE FINISH
Fresh and lively, the wine opens effusively with raspberry, mint and plum sauce. The baking spices soon follow, leaning clove initially but with plenty of cedar and vanilla. Still subtle, the ripe fruit elements, mostly cassis and fig at this stage, lurk beneath the surface along with beautiful hints of graphite and toasted sage, awaiting additional time in glass.
HARVEST DATES
September 20 – October 25
ALCOHOL
14.2%
BLEND
98% Cabernet Sauvignon 1.5% Petit Verdot 0.5% Cabernet Franc
Still very tightly wound, it’s the texture and mouthfeel that drive the palate initially. The tannins in particular are somewhat coarse but not so angular to overshadow the abundant dark fruit. The dynamic tension on the midpalate serves to focus and magnify the layers of black cherry, cocoa powder, and black pepper, before turning slightly earthy and dusty. The structure is pronounced, but still harmonious and well defined.
Technical Information
BARREL AGING
22 months in 100% French oak, 40% new
BOTTLING DATE
August 2020
It’s in the transition to the finish that the acidity materializes in almost candy-like fashion, a beautiful contrast to the supple tannins. Here the wine’s density shines elegantly, well balanced between smoky, espresso bean and delicate, dried blackberry. It’s the latter that defines the finish at this moment, persistent in length and depth.
WINEMAKER
Matt Crafton
Zinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)CalistogaDiamond mountain |
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