Magnificent Montelena

California's Chateau Montelena releases three of its memorable vintages, 1999, 2000 and 2001, in a single, six-bottle gift box

By Nick Passmore

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One of the big problems with the wine business these days is that most good wine, and especially wine with pretensions of being more than just good, is released, and drunk, far too young.

One-hundred years ago this didn't matter. Nor even 15. The main producer of fine wine at the time was Bordeaux, and the majority of buyers were a few thousand extremely rich British aristos with large cellars in which they could lay the wine down for the decades it required to become drinkable.

Of course that world has long disappeared, and even the conservative Bordelaise are now making wine to be drunk younger. But younger doesn't mean "on release" especially when you are talking great cabernet sauvignons, wherever they're from.

These are wines that, even by today's accelerated standards, will take many years to reach their full potential, but where are these mature wines? With the exception of the auction houses, they don't seem to be available.

California Vintages Matter?

Well, Napa Valley's famed Chateau Montelena has one answer. For a while they have held back a small proportion of each year's production and have now packaged two bottles each of the 1999, 2000, and 2001 vintages of their superb Estate Cabernet Sauvignon in a handsome wooden box. They offer it for sale through top retailers and the winery for $960.

I have tasted all three of these wines, and they offer an undeniable refutation to the idea that vintages don't really matter in California. Perhaps they don't matter as much as in Bordeaux, but the pronounced differences in these three wines will be enough to convince anybody.

Interestingly, the 1999 is the least ready to drink, or it was when I tried it in April. It was tight and shut down, but this often happens to great cabs; they go to sleep for a while, then wake up again.

The 2000 was dry but showed more generous fruit than the '99, quite like a Bordeaux in style, while the 2001 was richer, rounder, and altogether more generous.

While these are my impressions, the case also comes with contemporary tasting notes by owner Bo Barrett. So taste and compare for yourself, and see what you think of these three great vintages of that rarest of creatures, a fully mature—or getting that way, anyway—California cab.

When to Drink: Now, and for the next 10 years.
Breathing/Decanting: Decant for one hour if possible.
Food Pairing: Roast meats and game.
Grapes: 100% cabernet sauvignon.
Appellation: Napa Valley
Region: California
Country: U.S.
Price: $960
Availability: Very limited
Web Site: www.montelena.com

See more wines at www.nickonwine.com

Nick Passmore is an independent wine writer and consultant based in New York. For five years he contributed a widely read monthly wine column to Forbes.com, in addition to which his work has appeared in such publications as Forbes, Discover, Town & Country, the Robb Report, the Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Sky, and Golf Connoisseur. He is currently Artisanal Editor for Four Seasons magazine and contributes the Nick Passmore: Wine of the Week column to BusinessWeek.com. He is also a judge at the widely respected annual Critics' Challenge wine competition.

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