2007 | Chateau Montelena | Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep garnet colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate displays a very slowly evolving nose of crème de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, vanilla pod and smoked meats with touches of dried Provence herbs, cedar chest and cloves. Medium-bodied, plush, rich and generously fruited in the mouth, it has a wonderfully spicy character and long baking spice and black fruit-laced finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Deep garnet colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate displays a very slowly evolving nose of crème de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, vanilla pod and smoked meats with touches of dried Provence herbs, cedar chest and cloves. Medium-bodied, plush, rich and generously fruited in the mouth, it has a wonderfully spicy character and long baking spice and black fruit-laced finish.

• Wine Enthusiast: Not a wine for drinking now or anytime soon. It's so hard in tannins, it basically locks down the palate, and the astringency seems to accentuate the acidity and dryness. However, there is a deep core of blackberry essence and, after all, this is Montelena. All indications are that it will be a terrific wine in another 8 or 10 years.

Producer Information

The history of Chateau Montelena began in 1882, when the site of the modern winery was bought by Alfred L. Tubbs. Tubbs built the eponymous chateau and created the A.L. Tubbs Winery in 1888, and by 1896 it was the seventh-largest wine producer in California. Prohibition in the 1920s saw the end of the winery, although the Tubbs family continued to grow and sell grapes. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933 winemaking resumed, A.L. Tubbs wines were unable to find their former success. Tubbs' grandson changed the name to Chateau Montelena, after the nearby Mount Saint Helena, but the winery was sold shortly afterwards. In 1972, Jim Barrett took over ownership and released the first vintage. Chateau Montelena's real success came in the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, where its 1973 Chardonnay was deemed the best of a lineup of top wines from California and France. The top red wine, the Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, was also from California. The victory upset the French dominance of the wine industry, catapulting California producers onto the international stage, and opening the door for New World producers. The tasting was covered in Time magazine by George Taber, who went on to write a book about it titled Judgment of Paris, which in turn inspired the 2008 movie Bottle Shock. Since the tasting, a bottle of the winning vintage of Chardonnay has been put on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the chateau was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Chateau Montelena also successfully led a petition of growers to form the Calistoga AVA within Napa Valley in 2010.

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