A few Chateau Montelena's

[TheEngineer]

1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley.
That was a mouthful of a title. Elegant nose, almost Bordeaux like except for the slightly higher oak. Nice dark fruits, not overpowering, good balance, restrained and elegant, and a good amount of acidity and bit of earth. $125

2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley.
Definitely a bigger wine so the vintage difference shows big. Deep purple color, nice nose of of dark berries. On palate, much denser, fuller fruit, fuller bodied but still a decent balance. Longer finish but still not tremendous. I enjoyed both. $125.

2003 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon
I was worried about the vintage but again not a bad wine. Nice dense purple color with a good red/dark fruit nose and a hint of herbs(nice ones) Medium to full bodied, softer but still with tannins. Good balance and nice acidity (price?)

[winoweenie]

Took an 03 to San Diego as I've found the trip will shake up any older bottles in spite of all precautions. Found this to be typically a Full Monty in looks, aroma and mounthfeel. Easily one of the top 5 wines of the vintage. Was 50 bucks on futures. WW

[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 12-18-2007).]

[wondersofwine]

I'm on their mailing list now for the lower- end wines. Haven't opened any yet. Got to ask Engineer if even the 2001 seems worth the $125 price? I would be disappointed in anything less than amazing at that price. Was this a tasting or your own bottles?

[TheEngineer]

This was a tasting at the winery. I went first thing in the morning and the wine has been opened for at least the whole night. hmmm.. was the 01 worth $125. Probably not. I think that I would choosen a Camus Napa valley for $70 and get very similar levels of satisfaction. As for value, $50 for the 2004 pontet canet......can't beat that....perhaps a touch less elegant but at 40% of the price. That said, I bought a bottle of that to bring home.

As for the 03 regular bottle, I would agree with WW. It was one of the first '03s that I tasted and would have been a bit more enthusiastic about it if I had compared to the rest. I also did not know the price but at $50 it is a reasonable buy...then again the 04 Phelps is around the same price too......very different styles.


[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 12-18-2007).]

[wondersofwine]

Thanks for the additional input.