1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
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Tasting notes
Good dark red with ruby highlights. Medicinal black fruits, violet and cedar on the nose, plus a subtle carnal aspect; cool--even a bit minty--in a positive way but not especially green. High-pitched and aromatic on the palate, with dense, briary dark berry fruit framed and lifted by a floral quality and mounting minerality. Not jammy or particularly fleshy but not herbaceous either, this wine is long on personality and soil character (in comparison, the '97 and '94 bottlings are more typical Napa Valley Cabernet). Finishes with well-integrated, fine-grained tannins for this challenging year. Barrett noted that he used a relatively high 20% of mountain fruit (nowadays the mountain component is around 10%) and that this fruit achieved good ripeness in 1998. (ST)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Cool, decried vintage that’s really come round. 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. 18-20 months in French oak, 30% new. Winemaker Bo Barrett. Bottled August 2000 and released March 2002. Lifted nose. Pure and polished. Bone dry. Really balsam and racy. Zesty. Almost ballerina-like. Really beautiful now. Very long. Great line. (JR)
The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (13,000 cases) will disprove all the naysayers about how bad the vintage was in the North Coast. It possesses an opaque ruby/purple color, a gorgeous perfume of loamy soil, new saddle leather, chocolate, and black cherry and black currant fruit, full body, and ripe tannin in the finish. As it sits in the glass, notes of cedar and spice box also emerge. Although more evolved than most Montelena Cabernets are at age 4, there is no doubting that it will still provide considerable pleasure at age 15 or 16. Kudos to the Barretts for producing this impressive 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the vintage's few stars. The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon remains one of California's most remarkable Cabernets. I have been following it since the early seventies, and even the most difficult vintages are still drinking beautifully. The home vineyard is so consistent that even in vintages such as 1989 and 1998, this wine is far better than its competition. Tel. (707) 942-5105; Fax (707) 942-4221
The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (an 8,600-case cuvee made from yields of 1.98 tons of fruit per acre) is considered by Bo Barrett to be a 'great' year. The wine boasts a saturated inky/purple color as well as extraordinary density of fruit and cassis, and huge tannin, body, and extract. It is a substantial, palate-staining, long, muscular Cabernet that should only be purchased by connoisseurs with cold cellars as well as patience. (RP)
About the producer
Chateau Montelena is a historic Napa Valley estate that rose to global fame after its 1973 Chardonnay won the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Renowned for both its Chardonnay and Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, the winery continues to produce elegant, age-worthy wines with a legacy of excellence.