#vertical tasting

50 Years of Cabernet: The Chateau Montelena Dream Tasting

Last January, I was delighted to visit Chateau Montelena for the first time on the invitation of Calhoun & Company. Obligatory disclaimer: That means the Chateau Montelena Dream Tasting was entirely free to me. Indeed, it was a media and industry event, and I was thrilled, and a bit intimidated, to be included among the upper echelon of wine writers and industry elite present. Once the wine started pouring, however, it had my full attention.

But I had to get there first. I’ve reviewed Chateau Montelena’s newer releases multiple times, but I had not yet had the chance to explore the grounds of this historic Napa Valley winery or their historic wine collection. From the lower parking lot, one passes by Jade Lake, designed as a Japanese garden with gorgeous vantage points. In the light drizzle of an overcast day, this pagoda appeared like a siren in the mist.

Its wonderful silhouette in twilight has served as my laptop’s wallpaper ever since. I’m quite excited we’re only a few months away from similar weather again.

Up the stairs, past the lake and an outbuilding, resides the Chateau proper.

Built in 1888, it looks much like a European stone castle of a Gothic age, or perhaps like the well-maintained armories found in many US cities. Our tasting commenced on the bottom floor, in the barrel rooms.

Upstairs is the tasting room, charming for its English-countryside simplicity.

Also upstairs is the Great Room for entertaining, where we enjoyed our just rewards for tasting through 15 wines: an array of appetizers enjoyed among Medieval-inspired tapestries and furniture.

The tasting itself was led by Bo Barrett and Matt Crafton, who led us through fifty years of winemaking history at Chateau Montelena.

Bo on the left, Matt on the right.

Bo began winemaking under the tutelage of Mike Grgich after his father, Jim Barrett, bought the winery in 1972. Bo has been chief winemaker since the early 1980s and is CEO to this day, with Matt at the day-to-day winemaking helm. During its first decade, Chateau Montelena took home the storied Judgement of Paris Best White Wine award for its 1973 Chardonnay.

We did not try the 1973, but our welcome wine was a descendent: the 1988 Chardonnay.

It’s one of the best chardonnays I’ve had to date, remarkably light-bodied for a 30-year-old chardonnay. Mace, cardamom, and golden apple notes spoke with the acidity of lemon balm. This beauty took the time required to fully absorb the best qualities of its oaking.

Chardonnay was not the focus of the Dream Tasting, but rather, cabernet sauvignon. The estate cabernet vines were first planted in 1972, and even then, Jim Barrett had a philosophy that good wine should be made to age well. They’ve saved 10% of each vintage in magnums for aging ever since. Reader, I was the lucky recipient of that practice.

We tasted in two main flights. Going through an estate wine vertical like this is less about rating the individual wines and more about gaining insight into how each individual season affected the grapes. Some wines bore the less pleasant aspects of aging: too much nail polish remover astringency on the nose and finish and the loss of lively fruit notes. But most of the wines were quite drinkable regardless, speaking to the strength of their backbone and quality winemaking: the Barretts have achieved their early goal of ageability, unquestionably.

Of the cabernets aged 30 years or more, the 1974 and the 1988 impressed most. The former made me think of stir-fry pairings with its notes of bell pepper flesh and leaves, turmeric, and toasted coriander. Its thick body still pleased. The latter offered the first cocoa notes of the flight, which contributed to its beautiful balance. Its fruit notes were also still hanging in, a great feat. The 1994 cabernet could still pull rank over most commercial cabernets on the market as a picnic wine with mild tannins and luscious black and blue fruit notes. Pick some fresh berries to complement it.

But the Aughts? Oh, the Aughts! These wines are in the “enjoy now” bulls-eye range, when aging has amplified and deepened their flavor profiles to peak drinkability. The 2007 had all the makings of a strawberry and raspberry parfait. With all that fruit, it’s an easy crowdpleaser though a green sapling finish anchors it in reality, so you don’t get too carried away with dessert. I’d be intrigued to see how it holds up in another decade.

After tasting all the wines, I found myself returning to the 2001 cabernet. It conjured images of walking in a cold mist by an unknown spring, beckoned on by a whisper of danger. Though it’s possible the stormy weather influenced that imagery.

Upstairs after the Dream Tasting was complete, we enjoyed the current and almost releases from Chateau Montelena while we mixed and mingled and nibbled. The 2011 Estate Chardonnay and 2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon are both worthy of purchasing and enjoying now, though the Dream Tasting made clear how well they would also do with aging and the cabernet is likely be to kept aging for another year before release.

The chardonnay had lots of baking spice, floral lychee, and notes of golden pear and golden apple. The cabernet showed great potential with Morello cherry and currant notes spiced well and laid out on a backbone of bay leaf.

But there was also food, of course! I found myself quite in love with the crispy texture of these pork belly bao bites.

I also admired how fried sage pulled everything together for these roasted pork napkin dumplings with pear-ginger compote.

But I did not take notes on the rest of our reward feast. Instead, it was time to turn back toward the parking lot and the long drive home to Oakland in weather that quickly became a full storm. I could not see Mount Saint Helena as I made it to my car, but the vineyards in the distance created their own mystical atmospheric conditions.

For a fantasy and horror writer such as myself, you can imagine how enchanted I was by such lingering images. Chateau Montelena truly put on a dream tasting, with a bit of an assist from the weather.

Although I can’t promise you quite that quixotic of a wine tasting experience, Chateau Montelena is open daily to the public for tasting of new releases. Make an appointment to try their library wines or to take a tour of the estate.

The Chateau Montelena Dream Tasting was held 11 January 2018.

All week we've been reading from Lulu's wine log on her recent visit to Mount Eden. We'll conclude this series with a vertical exploration of the 2006-2010 vintages. The vintage notes are from Jeffrey Patterson and the tasting notes are Lulu's.  

2006

Growing/climate: “A fairly large crop for us. The growing season was on the later side. When you have a later bud break or colder winter, the flowering is pushed back in the calendar along with it. The later in the year you flower, generally the more successful the flowering becomes. It was a late, large crop. Good ripening at the end. Winemakers always like to see the final phase of ripening be very slow and gentle, and it was in ‘06 and ‘07. The weather at the end was very critical to the quality of the wine. It was very slow and methodical; not a lot of cold or heat to influence the progress of the grapes".

Taste: Beginning to show some age, though still remarkably fresh. Mature yellow apple/orchard fruit.

  2007

Growing/climate: “Much more normal in terms of crop size. Also in terms of scheduling with the calendar. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are normally harvested between September 1st and September 15th. Again, very gentle easy weather in August.

Taste: Orchard fruit, citrus and some pineapple in balance with oak spice notes. A somewhat leaner expression, though showing the softness of some age.

2010

Growing/climate: “Another late year. Very late bud break, flowering and harvest, but an exceptional growing season, especially for the early varieties, like Chardonnay.”

Taste: I must divulge my bias for this one. It's got a wonderful saline lemon and bright yellow apple character, nuances that can manage with a touch of oak even as a younger wine. The character of this vintage, between its youth and easy growing conditions, provides a fun contrast to the wines with a bit more age and slightly different growing circumstances.

Horizontal and Vertical Pannepot 2011, Pannepot Reserva 2009, and Pannepot Grand Reserva 2005....at the same time! Yeah, I did it.

This is what I would qualify as an epic tasting.  

It was not quite scientific or controlled but it was informative and delicious all the same.  These three very notable beers--each currently with perfect 100 out of 100 scores for both style and overall on Ratebeer--were bottles I picked up as I was starting my aging cellar a little over a year ago.  Finding bottles already with a few years on them was too hard to pass up at stores like State LIne Liquors (MD), Bierkraft (Brooklyn), and Healthy Beer (SF) where I believe these came from.

De Struise, founded in 2003 and now with their own brewery, is the most notable new guard brewery out of Belgium right now that I know of. In the 2012 Ratebeer Best Awards they just ranked at #23 world wide and #3 from Belgium behind Westvleteren and St. Bernardus. They experiment and push Belgian traditions without venturing into the absurd in any beers I've had. And they like wood! Check out their barrel aging Facebook banner photo! Wow.

The Pannepot series is their flagship. The base is a classic strong ale done perfectly and currently ranking at my #11 on Ratebeer. The Reserva is that aged on French Oak, The Grand Reserva is the Reserva aged a little while longer in used Calvados barrels. 

Pannepot 2011, drank 1 year old

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

In the early 1900s, the village of De Panne, close to the French border, was famous for two things -- the ‘Pannepots,’ or fishing boats, that could be seen along the coast, and the unique dark ale enjoyed by the local fishermen. Our Old Fisherman’s Ale is a tribute to these hardy sailors and their rich, flavorful brew. Unfiltered. Unpasteurized. Bottle-conditioned in 33cl and 75cl.

My score: 4.4/5

RateBeer weighted score: 4.2/5

It pours a rich brown with a fully lasting tan head and good lace. The aroma is much more fresh and hot than the others though not off putting at all. The yeast and malt are of fresh brown bread and caramel. There’s no oxidation. The fruits are just ripe, both orchard and bananas. The flavor is mostly sweet but not cloying, restrained alcohol heat and spice in the foreground, and with fruits and baking spices riding through. The mouthfeel is incredibly full, creamy, and lively. I feel like I should love the older Reservas more but this is just so comforting on top of being only slightly less rich. The flavors and aromas while still distinct are in harmony and perfectly expressed.

Pannepot Reserva 2009 bottle, drank approximately 3 years old

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION The Pannepot Reserva was an idea from my brew collegue Carlo who wanted to age Pannepot in genuine French oak barrels (barrique 225 liters). We have brewed 90HL at the end of 2005 which has been aging on oak ever since (14 months). 30 Hl was bottled Tuesday 8th May 2007. 60Hl has been transferred now to second hand calvados oak vessels and will be bottled again early autumn 2007, we will name that batch Pannepot Grand Reserva. As quality and results rule at Struise, the Reserva was already brewed again and aging on oak.

My score: 4.14/5

RateBeer weighted score: 4.3/5

It pours a deep clear brown with reddish tinge. The initial tan head gives quickly. The aroma is a rich sweet bread and yeast with very ripe dark fruit and a little nice oxidation. It’s just a tad more hot and full of fruit esters than the PGR and much richer than the standard. The aroma just keeps going and pulls you in. Flavors are the same with some cinnamon and clove taking hold in the middle before a somewhat woody bitter end. It’s moderately sweet but in incredible balance. It is just a little less heavy, rich, and warm than the older calvados aged PGR.  It is very luxurious with a lively creamy mouthfeel and warming, woody end. This is a masterpiece to say the least and is drinking perfectly right now. 

Pannepot Grand Reserva, "2005" bottle, drank about 5 years from bottling 

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION "Vintage 2005" Our PGR has aged for 24 months on oak barrels and has been bottled for the first time on the 27th of December 2007. The main difference with the Pannepot Reserva is that PGR matured the last ten months on Calvados oak barrels, adding extra complexity to the beer. We dedicate this beer as a tribute to Jeppe & Michael of Ølbutikken in Denmark. Those gentlemen were the first to discover our beers on an International basis back in 2004 and are responsable somehow for our beers being all over the globe since then. As a token of gratitude towards Jeppe & Michael, the first shipment of PGR was scheduled to Ølbutikken so they could be the first to launch its commercialisation.

My score: 4.2/5

Ratebeer weighted score: 4.06/5

This old boy pours dark, almost opaque, brown with a dark brown diminishing fizzy head and lace. The aroma starts with simple bread and yeast then goes sweet boozy raisins and figs, following with spice and herb notes. The flavor is moderately sweet raisin bread with a little tang early, later moderate bitterness, with wood and chalk taking over. Silken soft texture gives way to a dry tannic end. I don’t get much Calvados but the booze is easy enough. It's a seriously complex, rich, deep beer that draws you in at each raise of the glass--a special occasion in itself but worthy of a celebration.  At 7 years out of fermentation it’s still drinking wonderfully but next to the 2009 Reserva there is a noticeable dead yeast component. That may be a sign it is past prime. It’s considerably more rich though more mellowed and oxidized.