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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 199 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Rckapers on 12/29/2023: Rochester Bistro for Christmas Dinner with friends. (362 views) | | | Tasted by Alvinho on 1/21/2022 & rated 97 points: It is to be graded The most.
A 2009 white with so life.
On The nose pure peach and some passiofruit
Palate still young with oak ascents. White fruit mainly but all composition fit perfectly.
Great wine no remarks. The 2009 lives for 5-10 years easily (1554 views) | | | Tasted by Wine O’ Clock on 1/4/2022 & rated 92 points: Green apple , mineral , citrus
Bold mh
Acidity h
Dry (1469 views) | | | Tasted by Don Roberto on 11/25/2021 & rated 93 points: Yelllow Turning gold somewhat floral on the nose. Flavors of dried apricots with hints at apple. (1508 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 8/21/2021 & rated 87 points: Sam's 60th Birthday (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Small glass, brief note. This was nicely tart and bright for its age, but new oak still seemed to protrude. (2376 views) | | | Tasted by beerwineben on 4/15/2021 & rated 92 points: Quite good. Tart green apple, lush mouthfeel. (1689 views) | | | Tasted by Katscheker on 6/23/2020: sweet, honeydew flavour and softer (kinda cool to taste the winning wine) (1555 views) | | | Tasted by Whine-oh on 5/8/2020 & rated 88 points: Pnp steely, minerally, some citrus/lemon elements. Limited oak elements. Good weight. Food friendly. Last bottle. (1566 views) | | | Tasted by jvphoto on 3/8/2020 flawed bottle: Corked (1666 views) | | | Tasted by wabi47 on 8/6/2019: clean, slightly sweet white stone fruit with nice texture, and fine acidity; not an oaky/buttery wine; not terribly complex, but aging extremely well and so easy to drink. (1965 views) | | | Tasted by tak4 on 1/11/2019 & rated 90 points: Bay Area Wine Tour; 1/11/2019-1/15/2019 (Bay Area, CA): 10 months in French Oak.
Light straw. Creamy nose. Good acidity. Grapefruit, full mouthfeel, very rich. Lovely. N's wine of the day (2607 views) | | | Tasted by Bakerbd on 1/7/2019 & rated 91 points: Citrus, green apple and stone fruit. Still very crisp, did not show 10 yrs of age. Very restrained for Napa chardonnay (1978 views) | | | Tasted by Ceo on 2/24/2018 & rated 92 points: Held up and was beautiful! (2692 views) | | | Tasted by LJD on 11/12/2017 & rated 92 points: As usual, delicious. (2707 views) | | | Tasted by mats13 on 8/8/2017 & rated 91 points: The start of a week of debauchery and hard drinking, so my notes will definitely be fuzzy. I recall this as having nice ripe green apples and good acidity. (3168 views) | | | Tasted by aaronfeigin on 7/26/2017 & rated 91 points: An excellent example of American Chardonnay done right. No butter, not heavy oak, just excellent Chardonnay flavors. Apple, citrus and a hint of mint flavors dominate this non-Malo Chardonnay. Still very young and built to age, probably won't touch another bottle for a couple of years to check in. Excellent. (2896 views) | | | Tasted by Ed B on 5/10/2017 & rated 92 points: PnP along w/ 2014. No detailed notes. Both excellent. '09 smoother, richer and more complex. Excellent with two cheeses. #AgeIsGood (3056 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 5/4/2017 & rated 93 points: A bit of sulphur on the nose which blew of after a short while in the glass. Rich and creamy, floral notes, also a hint of gooseberries - very expressive and layered. On the palate generous, but also precise and fresh. Really well balanced, long finish. Drink or keep. 92-94 (2755 views) | | | Tasted by ssnich on 11/24/2016: Thanksgiving 2016 in Naples! (2967 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 7/13/2016: Far riper with peach notes cream, butter and almost caramel. more of the same on the palate with a touch of not unpleasant astringency that is washed away on the long almost nutty finish. Nice. (2839 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 7/10/2016: Initially upon opening it was a little flat and muted but, fortunately, after about half an hour it opened up with blossom, white stone fruit, cream, a little butter and bit of oak...all I could think was 'what a pity I've opened this and it's my only bottle'...really very nice. (2715 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 5/5/2016 & rated 90 points: I'm told that there was not much new oak applied here but it feels like there was. Honeyed yellow and white pit fruits, oaky. Incomplete malo to retain some acidic zip. I like it and I do think it will age well, but not sure that I'll chase it. (3238 views) | | | Tasted by Sijan on 4/24/2016 & rated 95 points: 2nd place out of 12 wines with a 16.7/20 average score in our Judgment of Ballston II blind tasting of White Burgundy vs. US Chardonnay. Bested only by Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay 2009
My blind tasting notes: "Fantastic nose! This is great! Very rich nose & palate. Well-balanced. Linden Hardscrabble? 18/20" (2814 views) | | | Tasted by gobigorbust on 4/9/2016: Ok but a little past its prime (2387 views) | | | Tasted by Jjenkins on 2/6/2016 & rated 89 points: Very nice! (2174 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/23/2016)
(Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley White) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (3/14/2012)
(Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, Napa Valley white) Subscribe to see review text. | By Sara d'Amato
WineAlign (3/10/2012)
(Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, Napa Valley white) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (3/6/2012)
(Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, Napa Valley white) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2011, IWC Issue #156
(Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and WineAlign and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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
Chardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican 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)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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