1994 Chateau Montelena Cabernet

Jun 10, 2011 6 Replies

Rate this thread:

Bi!! 15 years ago

I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet. We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad hoc get together of food and wine. Lots of fun. I started with a glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. Fairly golden in the glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. Nice fruity profile on the palate.

I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. The wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some age. FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight and intact. The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a fair amount of cassis. Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me of Bordeaux. Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather on the palate. "B+"

Vote

Ed Rasimus 15 years ago

Inquiring minds want to know, how did you acquire a double magnum? Purchased at the winery? Bought at auction?

Ch. Montelena has long been a favorite of mine, but surprisingly I don't see it on many wine lists anymore. Ten or twelve years ago it was fairly common at my haunts in Santa Fe, Taos and Colorado.

Vote

Mark Lipton 15 years ago

Wow. I expect that, especially in large format bottles, '94 Ch. Montelena is still a decade or two from complete readiness. It sounds like your bottle was a bit closed down, Bill.

Mark Lipton

Vote

Bi!! 15 years ago

I bought it at the winery on release during a trip to Napa. I think that the cork taint issue beginning with the 2001 vintage has really had an impact on the wine from a sales and marketing perspective and perhpas some internal issues have fundamentally changed the quality or style of the wine.

Vote

Bi!! 15 years ago

It was a bit closed and a bit more mature than I expected. I think the ripeness levels were a bit higher than normal for Montelena in

1994 and it was the beginning of the plush tannin and push towards riper fleshier styles that began to overtake Napa in the 90's.

Vote

AyTee 15 years ago

Since it is a large format bottle, the cork may have been inserted manually -- that is, using a manually operated corking device, rather than a pneumatic corker -- that draws a vacuum in the bottle -- which is used for high-volume bottling of 750s. This might account for the asymmetrical cork. It may also account for faster aging, because more oxygen would be in the ullage. Just a possibility, as I know nothing about cellar practices at Montelana.

Andy

Vote

Bi!! 15 years ago

This makes sense and expalins the odd cork. Thanks it was puzzling me!

Vote

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required