The Longevity, And Continuing Importance, Of An American Wine Icon

There are a handful of Napa Valley producers which have achieved legendary standing—names that aren’t simply indicative of the best ranges of grape rising and winemaking, however which have grow to be, in some ways, synonymous with American wine on the whole. One among these iconic estates, Chateau Montelena, is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Jim Barrett’s buy of the property in 1972 with plenty of occasions all year long, together with a particular gathering on the chateau itself on Might seventh.

Whereas I received’t be capable of make it, I did have the possibility to sit down down (through Zoom) and communicate with CEO and winemaker Bo Barrett and winemaker Matt Crafton to debate what makes Chateau Montelena not simply so necessary traditionally, but in addition so indispensable even immediately. We additionally tasted half a dozen wines that demonstrated the incredible age-worthiness of their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in distractingly scrumptious, totally fascinating methods.

After two hours of dialog, my major take-away is that Chateau Montelena’s continued success is largely because of their laser focus not simply on high quality, however on their willingness to permit every classic to shine in its personal distinctive manner. In different phrases, there is no such thing as a paint-by-numbers strategy to creating their Chardonnays and Cabernets (in addition they produce glorious Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling, however the Chardonnay and Property Cab are their flagships), no insistence that every 12 months style like a relative of the earlier one. As an alternative, like so lots of the biggest producers all through Napa Valley and around the globe, Barrett and Crafton take what annually offers them and profit from it, whereas nonetheless permitting these particular circumstances to go away their indelible fingerprint on the ultimate wine within the bottle.

To perform this, they’ve famously picked their grapes once they have felt they’re ripe, and never a day later than that if attainable. “As quickly because the grapes are completely ripe, and the tannins are proper, we decide them,” Barrett advised me. “We by no means search for that surmaturité, that New World type.” Apparently, he identified, he predicts that an increasing number of producers shall be doing that not essentially for stylistic causes, however relatively as a hedge in opposition to smoke from more and more frequent and violent fires. “Hanging it on the market for that additional three weeks,” he added, “each day it’s on the market, you’re operating the danger of smoke.”

One of many benefits of choosing when the grapes are ripe however not overripe is the upkeep of higher acidity, which is likely one of the keys to profitable growing older, even in the case of purple wines. In consequence, “It’s not essentially that the wines are constant in taste profile,” Crafton defined, however that they’re reliably of top of the range whatever the vagaries of that exact classic.

“Our philosophy right here is, we’re attempting to seize the sunshine and the land of that 12 months,” Barrett mentioned. The important thing to attaining “our constant high quality,” he added, “is that if it’s a chilly 12 months like 2010 or ’11, I need it to be like the best Bordeaux wine we’ve ever made.” In different phrases, accepting the character of the classic and permitting the wine to precise it, versus attempting to craft a wine in a riper, extra highly effective type even though the fruit itself isn’t at all times inherently able to producing one thing like that, is on the coronary heart of their work. “So our consistency of high quality is…at all times on the high of the mark, nevertheless it at all times exhibits the classic.”

I’ve been very lucky to style my justifiable share of Chateau Montelena over time, however exploring three whites and three reds, from three totally different many years and alongside Barrett and Crafton, confirmed simply how profound an impression that philosophy has had on the wines not simply of their youth, because the youthful vintages of every demonstrated, but in addition of their maturity.

Certainly, even the Chardonnay from 2009 (in magnum, admittedly, which leads to a slower growing older course of) and the Cabernet Sauvignon from 1991, each retained outstanding liveliness regardless of the 13 and 31 years of age, respectively.

That, it appears to me, is likely one of the key definitions of what units the nice aside from the good on the earth of wine: A constant skill to supply wines which might be age-worthy and expressive of the 12 months during which the grapes have been grown, that embody the character of the land, and which have the potential to offer immense pleasure each of their youth and thru to no matter stage of maturity they obtain.

The trick, Barrett and Crafton advised me, isn’t combating the circumstances of any given 12 months, however maximizing them in a manner that’s sincere, that displays the character of that exact harvest. To that finish, “We’ve bought the refined years, we’ve bought the powerhouse years, and we’re going to go together with the pitch and we’re going to swing at it to make the most effective we are able to,” Barrett mentioned. “And it’s labored very well for us.” Classic after classic, he added, “we’ve wished to be an announcement of the place, the land, and the sunshine that 12 months.”

“We’d go loopy if we needed to make the identical wine yearly,” Crafton concurred. That drive—to precise the ineffable fact of any given 12 months by way of the lens of every bottle—has propelled Chateau Montelena for half a century, lifting it to the higher echelons of the world of American wine. It guarantees to proceed doing so for the subsequent 50 years and past.

Beneath are my notes on the six wines we tasted—three Chardonnays and three Cabernet Sauvignons. Along with these, Chateau Montelena crafted (and rapidly offered out of) a particular anniversary bottling of Chardonnay that’s primarily based on the three vineyards—John Muir Hanna Winery in Napa Valley, Bacigalupi Winery in Russian River Valley, and Belle Terre Winery in Alexander Valley—that have been the supply of fruit for the well-known 1973 bottling that got here out on high among the many white wines on the well-known 1976 Judgment of Paris. And whereas this explicit one is now not accessible, the workforce at Chateau Montelena has different (so far secret) tasks within the works.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2009 (magnum)

That is majestic: Propulsive, concentrated, and so lengthy on the end. A deeply mineral nostril, with lemon pith and arduous apples, precedes a palate of hazelnuts, concentrated lemons, arduous stone fruit, inexperienced apples, and wonderful tensile energy. It followers out on the palate and but by no means loses vitality. Particularly on this magnum format, it has one other decade of life left…and certain much more.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2014

A lot richness and breadth, and nice texture right here, with hints of white peaches, nectarines, lemon blossoms, orange blossoms, honeysuckle, toast, Asian pears, and a contact of sweet corn. That is at an excellent inflection level, with the exuberant fruit nonetheless current however with indications of maturity peeking by way of.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2019

Lovely, beneficiant, and prolonged, with nectarines, yellow apples, honeysuckle, and slate-like minerality. It’s taut but dense, full of life but beneficiant, and with one other 20 years of life forward.

Chateau Montelena Property Cabernet Sauvignon 1991

Impeccably mature, redolent of freshly dug mushrooms, forest flooring, cigar humidor and pencil shavings, currants, and cherry pits. These flip to a palate lifted with balsamic notes and chamomile, completely ripe plums, dried violets and lavender, leather-based, smoked meat, dried beef, and porcini broth. The tannins are totally resolved, lending every sip a distinctly silky character, but there’s loads of vitality nonetheless pulsing by way of all of it. That is an absolute stunner.

Chateau Montelena Property Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Deliciously savory, with sarsaparilla notes alongside purple and black plums, brambly berries, a contact of creaminess to the black cherries, cedar and pencil lead, flowers, and blood oranges. Barrett defined that this has extra polymerized tannins from the skins, versus the stems and seeds within the 1991, and he believes that this shall be “an order of magnitude higher” than the 1991 when it’s the identical age, which is a mind-boggling thought given how glorious that one is, too.

Chateau Montelena Property Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

So ripe and beneficiant, vibrant and wealthy, with hints of purple apples alongside cinnamon sticks, cloves, and caramel notes, blue fruit, blackberries, and cherries of significant purity and enthusiasm. It nonetheless wants a little bit of time within the cellar, nevertheless it’s a extremely profitable bottling from what Crafton known as a “very technically difficult classic,” given the vacillations between chilly and warmth, and the added nightmare of fires. That is one for the cellar, however I anticipate outstanding issues from this Cab because it evolves over time.