Chateau Montelena

The Stuff of Legends

Chateau Montelena winery Some wineries are more important members of the California wine industry. It's not just because of the quality of wine they produce, but because of what they represent. Chateau Montelena in the far north of the Napa Valley is such a winery.

By now, no one doubts that California produces wines every bit as fine as those produced by the finest chateaux and estates in Europe. Yet that continent's wineries still have something on Californians that counts for something: longevity and history.

It seems every other winery in California these days has a history that begins this way, "Founded by entrepreneurs Joe and Jackie Smith back in 1995 ..." But then there is Chateau Montelena. Their history begins like this: "Founded by Alfred Tubbs in 1882 ..."

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Bo and Jim Barrett The early founding of Chateau Montelena and few other surviving wineries is important to the American wine industry. And yet this early status as a Napa Valley and California wine industry founder is not what makes Chateau Montelena both legendary and important. Alongside their longevity is a history of wines of truly historic character and outstanding quality. We are fans and have been for just this reason.

On the historic side you have the famed Paris Tasting of 1976 in which two American wines, one of which was the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, were ranked best in a taste-off with great French wines. The "tasting heard round the world" helped put California wines on the map and confirmed Montelena's important status in California.

By the time this important tasting had occurred, the winery was owned by the Barrett Family, headed by vintner Jim Barrett and his son, master winemaker Bo Barrett (pictured). The Barretts still own it today and have never rested on its laurels. This last point is important.

Given Chateau Montelena's early fame for Chardonnay due to the Paris Tasting, it might seem odd that it is Cabernet Sauvignon that they are best known for. These wines are spectacular vintage after vintage and have the added benefit of being of a character that allow them to age into beauties after 10, 15, 20 years.

Randall Miller's Bottle Shock tells the true story of this formerly little-known winery and its remarkable triumph over French winemakers in a blind tasting competition.

But of course there is more. The winery remains committed to Chardonnay and also produces what Zinfandel aficionados call a "Claret style" of Zin rarely seen in today's market. It means a Zin that errs on the elegant, rather than the fruitily bombastic side of the stylistic ledger.

The house of Montelena is justly famed and legendary in California. Their greatness today rests not just on their status as early adopters of Napa Valley and past performance but on their commitment to keeping the legend alive and growing.

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This vendor is located at 2545 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa, CA, 94558.

Chateau Montelena 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
CAB031 Chateau Montelena

Intense deep crimson color with a powerful nose. Classic structure of fine-grained tannins and firm acidity persist through to the clean, crisp, spicy finish.

California , Napa Valley
Red , Cabernet Sauvignon

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Chateau Montelena 2007 Estate Zinfandel
WCMZ07E0 Chateau Montelena

With a soft entry, the palate builds to a big, jammy mid-palate rich with barrel spice, clean tart blackberry, and velvety tannins throughout.

California , Napa Valley
Red , Zinfandel

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Chateau Montelena 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
WCMC05M0 Chateau Montelena

Dark and powerful in the glass with great density and saturation, this wine grabs your attention from the first glance. Beautiful acid balance and round, rich, velvety tannins.

California , Napa Valley
Red , Cabernet Sauvignon

1 Customer Review(s)