Andy Frieden, JJ Buckley, July 2009

The color is dark ruby with a purple core and brilliant intensity. The nose is a complex array of the New World and Old World descriptors. There is that unmistakable classic Napa Cab nose that we like with rich ripe blackberry and cassis fruit that oh so gracefully intermingles with rare Bordeaux characteristics of loamy earthy soil, spicy bramble of underbrush, and minerality. Albeit due to the unique terroir expression from the estate's three major soil profiles of sedimentary, volcanic and conglomerate. There is an underlying mocha chocolate with leather and some tarry phenolics of fresh pavement and pencil lead. Wow! This wine is evolving in the glass as I take my notes - very unique. On the palate, this new release has a pop of cherry fruit that hits first, then expands to a solid core of classic Napa fruit with Chateau Montelena's distinctive terroir coming through in a leathery loamy soil thing I usually reserve for Left Bank Bordeaux wines; not a usual Napa Valley CULT wine! The powerful attack of fruit and higher than usual acidity from the cool '05 vintage and well managed tannins with a richness of concentration affords one the flexibility to enjoy this wine now and for the next two decades.

91 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, December 2008

The flagship wine, the 2005 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate displays a lovely perfume of fresh herbs, loamy soil, black cherries, and black currants. Spicy and very Bordeaux-like in this vintage, with high tannins, a cool climate freshness, and a leaner personality than is found in riper vintages, it will benefit from 1-2 years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades or more.

93 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, May 2008

Good deep ruby-red. Complex aromas of currant, licorice, graphite, bitter chocolate, smoked meat, tobacco and brown spices. Began juicy, penetrating and quite youthfully unevolved, but aeration brought a suppler, rounder texture and more generosity to this impressively structured wine. Complicating notes of bitter cherry, menthol and minerals. This will require a good eight to ten years of aging but the substantial tannins are sweet and lush. Very long, pure and powerful on the finish. Barrett compared this to top previous vintages like 1986 and 1997, the latter, he admitted, "a brett wine."

About Winery

Chateau Montelena was established in 1882, but it was almost 100 years later that Jim Barrett took control and began a renaissance. The first wines were made in 1972 and in 1976 Chateau Montelena helped put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine and food establishment gathered for a grand tasting in Paris.

Four white Burgundies were tasted against six California Chardonnays and Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay rated above all other wines. The results proved that Chateau Montelena could produce some of the world's finest wines and that California's wine industry had come of age. Decades later, this celebrated family-owned winery continues to thrive with Jim Barrett at the helm.

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