Community Tasting Notes 315

• Decanting Queen wrote: 89 points

  April 7, 2024 - Not the best showing of this wine but not sure I would go all the way to flawed. Opened a few days ago and seemed very sherry like with a sour finish. I wasn’t sure if it was the other wines I had open or me or a flaw. Put some away and tried again day 3, much better but still below expectations.
  
  Big plummy fruit, Christmas spices, fruit a little stewed/sherries. More in balance than day one and finish is long and smooth. This was pleasant but not as great as I know this wine can be.

  3 people found this helpful Comments (4)

• Fftjr Likes this wine: 95 points

  February 27, 2024 - Excellent. Deep ruby. Inviting nose. Well balanced. Plenty of berry and cassis. Has another 5 years minimum

  3 people found this helpful Comment

• oldwines Likes this wine: 96 points

  February 24, 2024 - In my cellar since release. Decanted at 4pm (a little later than I had planned due to a delay in my daughter’s soccer/“football” game) and tasted from 6-11pm. 14.3% ABV (high for Montelena of old). This wine is shockingly youthful, opaque dark garnet with a bright crimson meniscus and zero bricking. The nose exhibits some new oak derived scents of vanilla, tobacco, cedar, also quite spicy along both the sweet and picante spectrums. Tannins are still there but more than half integrated. Bright natural acidity. Fruit is complex…cassis, black raspberry, plum, blackberry and lots of underpinning minerals and floral elements like violets. Complex, layered, long on the finish and balanced. Classic old-school Napa Cab, NOT over-ripe, over-extracted or over-oaked. As always with Montelena Estate Cab, this needs a long decant. Gorgeous with grilled steaks. I would say this could age nicely for another decade or two effortlessly in a cool cellar.

  2 people found this helpful Comments (8)

• heathenone@msn.com Likes this wine: 93 points

  December 16, 2023 - At Somm's Kitchen's Bordeaux's tasting. Brought as a ringer, which worked well with the theme. Not at all tired. Good color, with no bricking at thte rim evident. Wonderful aromatics, pallet, and flavors. Opened and poured right away. Was great upon opening, and blossomed more over the next 2 hours in the glass. Will continue to hold steady for years to come!

  3 people found this helpful Comment

• buckeye76 Likes this wine: 92 points

  December 3, 2023 - Ruby color. Blackberries blackcurrants, licorice and spice with hints of chocolate and espresso in the nose. Deep concentrated fruit in the flavor, blackberries, black cherries and some earthiness. An elegant wine, medium bodied and a medium to long finish.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

Pro Reviews 7

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2002
• Type Red
• Producer Chateau Montelena
• Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
• Designation The Montelena Estate
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation Napa Valley
• UPC Codes 3760076820045, 669576019863, 733555000095, 733555100320, 733555251329

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 45 (0%)
• In Cellars 5,868 (57%)
• Consumed 4,424 (43%)

Food Pairing

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