Wow, a perfectly mature old Cali Cab that needs no apologies. Tender, with exceptionally sweet fruit and pitch perfect acidity. Currant and cherry with some green/gummy herb edge, a seriously savory, meaty, cacao, mineral core. The first Montelena Cab released, made by Grgich.
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A charming, youthful, bright, old school cab, that is still vivacious and youthful despite the years. Has a bit of a lactic funk on the nose that I didn't love, but that disparates with time. Quite minty and cali cab-like, but without any obtrusive alcohol or sugar, fully integrated, just lovely.
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At tasting. Brief note. Another amazing piece of history to try here. Pours a day bright ruby red in the glass with no bricking or signs of age. Nose and palate are intense and pure showing bright red cherries, dried cherries, cinnamon laced red florals, cigar box, worn leather, graphite, smoke, dark soil and well integrated oak. Midpalate too was intense in its depth and purity of red fruits, spice, and prominent graphite with piercingly focused acid and silky tannin that drive this to a long finish that has great complexity in its waves of flavors that change as it lingers on the palate. Liquid Americana!
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Agree with previous notes. The color looked as if it were a recent vintage. No bricking or browning at all. Amazing. Lots of primary fruit remains with well integrated, soft tannins, cedar and cherry. Very enjoyable.
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1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma – neck high fill. Not a hint of age in the color, absolutely no browning at the edges. Great aroma of sweet cedar, cherry, spice, tobacco, and leather. Very soft with the tannins completely integrated. A little of the primary fruit remained, dominated by cherry. This was followed by tobacco, pencil lead, spice, cedar leading to a long balanced finish. An amazing wine and one of the favorites of the night. It may have been better a few years ago, but a great old cab now and not over the hill.
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We purchased this wine from a local fine wine merchant. Fill level was about a quarter inch above the shoulder. Label was in pristine condition. Color was very much brick, with a hint of purple in the background. Used an ah-so to pull the cork, which remained intact and was in great shape. Decanted for 30 mins. Almost zero sediment in the bottle. Aroma of caramel, tobacco. Wine was still holding together nicely, although past its prime. Was shocked at the tannins still lingering around. Overall medium finish. Amazing example of a very age-able California Wine. 12.8% alcohol.
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Sampled 1/21/12. Top shoulder fill. Cork in reasonable condition. Color was extremely promising with almost no rust or bricking. On the nose, however, the wine had almost no nose, even after a few hours of decanting. On the plate the wine showed no fruit initially but after 30 minutes some fruit started to emerge giving hope, but not long thereafter it started heading downhill and after a couple hours was clearly on its way to vinegar with no fruit.
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Incredible 35 year old cab, opened in celebration of the Montelena sale. They do not make them like this anymore. 'Only' 12.9% alcohol, a bit of bricking, otherwise still ruby in color. After an hour the nose exploded (was hiding prior to that). Cedar, current, leather, dark berry and chocolate. 30+ second finish. Other than the style being old school, one would never guess 35 years old. Unreal how well the fruit held up, very fresh.
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Flock Tasting of 1970s Cal Cabs (Chicago, IL): Dark ruby in color with no fading. A generous, powerful and complex nose of dark currant, blueberry, chocolate, violets, eucalyptus, cedar and vanilla. Great depth on the palate. Concentrated fruit and silky tannins. Minty dark fruits, cedar, herbs and vanilla spice. Long and youthful. Montelena's first cab. In no way does this resemble a 30+ year old wine. My WOTN, Group #4.
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4 Decades, 21 Bottles, 1 Producer- Chateau Montelena (Daniel's Broiler, Bellevue , WA): This was the first Cab made by Montelena (the modern one; I don't know if the 19th winery made one). I was pleasantly surprised at how well it showed. The nose showed caramel corn, iron filings, rosemary, cocoa, and piercing minerality. Everytime I came back to the nose I found something new. The palate was fairly thick but showing signs of age. Like the nose the palate offered great minerality. It also had plenty of tannins left. It was a real pleasure to try such a well stored top quality wine.
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Chateau Montelena vertical (1973-2002) (Bellevue, WA): The nose shows cedar, black cherry, and hints of madeirization with caramel and soy. With time in the glass some raisin and smoky notes emerged as well. The palate features gorgeously soft mouthful, not much fruit or depth but still very pretty. The finish shows a lot of tart acid and some tannin still to resolve. However, the tannins have clearly won the battle. This bottle was definitely on the edge. Group average 88.1 pts.
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1/21/2019 - andtheodor wrote: 94 Points
Wow, a perfectly mature old Cali Cab that needs no apologies. Tender, with exceptionally sweet fruit and pitch perfect acidity. Currant and cherry with some green/gummy herb edge, a seriously savory, meaty, cacao, mineral core. The first Montelena Cab released, made by Grgich.
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1/15/2019 - blanquito wrote: 94 Points
A charming, youthful, bright, old school cab, that is still vivacious and youthful despite the years. Has a bit of a lactic funk on the nose that I didn't love, but that disparates with time. Quite minty and cali cab-like, but without any obtrusive alcohol or sugar, fully integrated, just lovely.
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9/1/2018 - ESTEELE90 Likes this wine:
At tasting. Brief note. Another amazing piece of history to try here. Pours a day bright ruby red in the glass with no bricking or signs of age. Nose and palate are intense and pure showing bright red cherries, dried cherries, cinnamon laced red florals, cigar box, worn leather, graphite, smoke, dark soil and well integrated oak. Midpalate too was intense in its depth and purity of red fruits, spice, and prominent graphite with piercingly focused acid and silky tannin that drive this to a long finish that has great complexity in its waves of flavors that change as it lingers on the palate. Liquid Americana!
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9/4/2015 - Rackit Likes this wine: 92 Points
Agree with previous notes. The color looked as if it were a recent vintage. No bricking or browning at all. Amazing. Lots of primary fruit remains with well integrated, soft tannins, cedar and cherry. Very enjoyable.
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1/10/2015 - petitblanc wrote: flawed
Nice color, otherwise unclean, cooked, dead. Slight old seepage. From Sonoma grapes.
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11/17/2013 - gharter Likes this wine: 92 Points
1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma – neck high fill. Not a hint of age in the color, absolutely no browning at the edges. Great aroma of sweet cedar, cherry, spice, tobacco, and leather. Very soft with the tannins completely integrated. A little of the primary fruit remained, dominated by cherry. This was followed by tobacco, pencil lead, spice, cedar leading to a long balanced finish. An amazing wine and one of the favorites of the night.
It may have been better a few years ago, but a great old cab now and not over the hill.
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4/14/2013 - Murf130 Likes this wine: 93 Points
We purchased this wine from a local fine wine merchant. Fill level was about a quarter inch above the shoulder. Label was in pristine condition.
Color was very much brick, with a hint of purple in the background. Used an ah-so to pull the cork, which remained intact and was in great shape. Decanted for 30 mins. Almost zero sediment in the bottle. Aroma of caramel, tobacco. Wine was still holding together nicely, although past its prime. Was shocked at the tannins still lingering around. Overall medium finish. Amazing example of a very age-able California Wine. 12.8% alcohol.
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1/21/2012 - mxpbuy wrote: 70 Points
Sampled 1/21/12. Top shoulder fill. Cork in reasonable condition. Color was extremely promising with almost no rust or bricking. On the nose, however, the wine had almost no nose, even after a few hours of decanting. On the plate the wine showed no fruit initially but after 30 minutes some fruit started to emerge giving hope, but not long thereafter it started heading downhill and after a couple hours was clearly on its way to vinegar with no fruit.
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7/26/2008 - cadamson wrote: 94 Points
Incredible 35 year old cab, opened in celebration of the Montelena sale. They do not make them like this anymore. 'Only' 12.9% alcohol, a bit of bricking, otherwise still ruby in color. After an hour the nose exploded (was hiding prior to that). Cedar, current, leather, dark berry and chocolate. 30+ second finish. Other than the style being old school, one would never guess 35 years old. Unreal how well the fruit held up, very fresh.
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12/15/2006 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Flock Tasting of 1970s Cal Cabs (Chicago, IL): Dark ruby in color with no fading. A generous, powerful and complex nose of dark currant, blueberry, chocolate, violets, eucalyptus, cedar and vanilla. Great depth on the palate. Concentrated fruit and silky tannins. Minty dark fruits, cedar, herbs and vanilla spice. Long and youthful. Montelena's first cab. In no way does this resemble a 30+ year old wine. My WOTN, Group #4.
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5/14/2005 - Jason wrote: 91 Points
4 Decades, 21 Bottles, 1 Producer- Chateau Montelena (Daniel's Broiler, Bellevue , WA): This was the first Cab made by Montelena (the modern one; I don't know if the 19th winery made one). I was pleasantly surprised at how well it showed. The nose showed caramel corn, iron filings, rosemary, cocoa, and piercing minerality. Everytime I came back to the nose I found something new. The palate was fairly thick but showing signs of age. Like the nose the palate offered great minerality. It also had plenty of tannins left. It was a real pleasure to try such a well stored top quality wine.
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5/14/2005 - Eric wrote: 88 Points
Chateau Montelena vertical (1973-2002) (Bellevue, WA): The nose shows cedar, black cherry, and hints of madeirization with caramel and soy. With time in the glass some raisin and smoky notes emerged as well. The palate features gorgeously soft mouthful, not much fruit or depth but still very pretty. The finish shows a lot of tart acid and some tannin still to resolve. However, the tannins have clearly won the battle. This bottle was definitely on the edge. Group average 88.1 pts.
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