94pts Vinous

Bright ruby-red. Penetrating aromas of black cherry, dried flowers and brown spices. Not as silky as the 2004 through 2007 vintages but boasts noteworthy refinement and savory intensity, with fresh, harmonious acidity giving the wine good focus and finesse. Excellent depth here if not quite the flavor development of vintages like '07 and '04. Still, this conveys a thickness of texture and a faintly exotic quality and finishes with very suave tannins. The summer was rather cool but steady, and there was enough warmth in September to ensure ripe tannins without burning off needed acidity, noted Bo Barrett. A fairly elegantly styled Montelena Estate.

93pts Decanter

Of the four vintages tasted from the ‘00s, it was tough to pick just two. Like 2005, the 2009 was less muscular, more Bordeaux-like, with a bright, dark red fruit style, smoky spice and a wonderfully silky, caressing texture. At the heyday of high alcohol Napa Cabs, its alcohol is below 14%, partly thanks to a cool summer with no heat spikes and a five-week long harvest from mid-September.

93pts Wine Advocate

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.

93pts International Wine Cellar

Good red-ruby. Highly perfumed aromas of black cherry and menthol lifted by rose and spice oils. Suave, pure and vibrant, with red berry and spice flavors lifted by a pungent minty quality. Nothing black fruit about this vintage. Finishes with fine-grained, rather silky tannins and terrific energy. Less forbidding at this young stage than many recent vintages of this wine, and in a distinctly food-friendly style. This wine benefited dramatically from its final months in barrel.

Winemaker Notes

By focusing on precision viticulture techniques, small fermentation lots, and earlier integration of more precisely chosen barrels—matched to the unique characters of each lot—we have been able to make the wine more approachable at a younger age, while retaining the core elements that ensure a long life in the cellar. The nose opens with big black cherry, currants, and plum spice cake notes. Underpinning all that fruit are layers of smoke, anise, and very subtle oak tones. The palate entry is soft and round,
but builds quickly with loads of fine velvety tannin, huge black cherry, and red fruits that
persist throughout. A rich finish layered with spice and dried fruit. A firm core of acid and barrel spice integrate beautifully across all layers, enhancing the structure and balance. 

Blend :  98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc 

Winery Notes

Chateau Montelena’s history is one of the deepest and most storied in the Napa Valley and California. Founded just north of Calistoga by a senator and San Francisco entrepreneur in 1882 at the turn of the century, it was one of the largest wineries in the state. Prohibition put an end to Montelena’s winemaking, and the next major era began in 1968, when Jim Barrett purchased the estate. Jim fell in love with this exceptional property, blessed with a complex mix of soils, slopes and biodiversity of wildlife and fauna. He had a dream of creating wine at the level of the great First Growths of Bordeaux, and set about replanting the vineyard, outfitting the winery with modern equipment, and studying the processes necessary for farming and winemaking at the highest quality level.

In 1976 Chateau Montelena 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 at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Paris. Four white Burgundies were tasted against six California Chardonnays. When the scores were tallied, the French Judges were convinced that the top-ranking white wine was one of their own. In fact, it was Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay, rated above all other wines. This seminal event has been memorialized in the book "The Judgment of Paris," by George Taber, as well as in the 2008 feature film Bottle Shock.

Today Chateau Montelena’s distinct 19th century stone structure stands as a quality icon in Napa Valley, consistently producing some of the finest wines in California. Master Winemaker Bo Barrett, Jim’s son, now runs the estate with the help of Winemaker Matt Crafton and Vineyard Manager Dave Vella.