Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical

Montelena's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate wraps around the palate with serious depth. Even with all of its intensity, the 2009 has a silkiness that makes it incredibly delicious at this early stage. Red berries, flowers, tobacco and sweet herbs all flesh out on the generous, radiant finish. While many 2009s are a bit tight today, Montelena's 2009 Estate is showing very nicely, although it is keeping some cards close to the vest.

The 2010 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has exceptional aromatic purity and complexity to the aromas of blueberry, cassis, cocoa powder, mocha, spices and minerals; some very ripe berry pie notes emerged with air. Wonderfully creamy, silky and deep; an utterly seamless wine with the underlying soil-driven minerality to energize and frame its fleshy flavors of dark fruits and spices. This is yet another 2010 whose impression of refinement belies the weather extremes of the growing season.

The 2011 cold rainy year has a bad reputation (some in Napa didn't even pick), but the 2011 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is one of the valley's successes, with Bordeaux-like elegance, a red fruit profile, bright acidity and silky-soft tannins. Typically, the blend includes 20% hillside vineyard grapes - for this wine it was 35%. Aromas of lavender, earth, bay leaves and spice jump out of the glass and rich minerality ties together the savoury, subtle flavours