About This Wine
From one of Napa Valley’s most storied estates, the 2022 Château Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon captures the quiet confidence that has defined the winery since it stunned the world nearly half a century ago. In 1976, Château Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay famously won the white-wine category at the Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting that proved California wines could rival—and even s...
About This Wine
From one of Napa Valley’s most storied estates, the 2022 Château Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon captures the quiet confidence that has defined the winery since it stunned the world nearly half a century ago. In 1976, Château Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay famously won the white-wine category at the Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting that proved California wines could rival—and even surpass—France’s most revered bottles. As the wine world celebrates the 50th anniversary of that seismic event, each new Montelena release carries the weight of that legacy.
The 2022 vintage delivers classic Napa structure with Montelena’s trademark restraint. Aromatically, the wine opens with black cherry, dried flowers and cedar, layered with hints of plum sauce and subtle spice. On the palate, dark fruit, cocoa and mocha glide across silky tannins that are both mouth-coating and elegant, gradually giving way to savory nuances of ginger, kola and forest floor. The acidity remains quietly supportive, providing lift and balance as the finish lingers with earthy complexity.
Crafted primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon with small additions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the wine was aged in French oak and built for longevity, capable of evolving gracefully for two decades or more.
Score
97 points, Wine Advocate. (Previous vintage.)
