Last Evening with friends. ‘97 Montelena estate was WOTN. From the second it was opened, to inhaling the aromas out of the glass to the first sip, and finally to the last. Just exuded class, complexity, depth and balance. When this wine was young, I thought it had an astringency to it; there is none now. I wish all 20 year old napa cabs were this good. Including the 1999 Anderson Conn Valley Eloge, just recently received from the winery. This was a good enough wine, probably would have been fine on its own, but overshadowed. Everything about it was a notch down from the Montelena, one had to work hard to capture the aromas and the flavors were far more delicate. Nice balance and texture, though. A 2008 Whitehall Lane Leornardini was disliked by us all- big ripe licorice, over the top. Disappointing and did not get drunk yp. On the other hand, a 2012 Treebottom was once again a very good surprise. HM tannins are there, this will improve, but loads of fruit. And a 2012 Robert Craig Howell Mtn was a bit disappointing, not because it lacked fruit, but the structure seemed missing and it presented in a very modern, fruit-forward manner, maybe a bit more ripeness than I wanted, esp. after the Montelena. Good wine, but expected more.
Awesome notes Jim! I totally agree about the 97 Montelena Estate - just a great wine that is drinking really, really well right now. And I’ve only had it recently out of half bottles!!
While generally not a fan of 97 Napa Cabs, Montelena is the one that has thrilled me.
Thanks for the notes, Jim. The '97 Montelena is one of my favorite California Cabs. I have never had a bottle that was less than outstanding.
Ed
97 Monty better than the awesome 91? I’ve not had the 97.
Pat Martin wrote:
97 Monty better than the awesome 91?
For my palate, the '91 is a little better than the '97. I put the '87, '94 and '97 just under the '91 from the bottles that I have had. But I would not turn down a taste of any of them!
Ed
I agree with Ed, although my sampling of each of those vintages has been limited.
For me, the ‘91 is the best vintage of Montelena.
Good to know about the 97 Montelena, as I am cracking one open on NYE.
have enjoyed the 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 94 and 97 Monty’s…hard to pick a winner but wd probably go with the 91…Still have 2 bottles of the 97 left(out of a case) the first 10 were terrific.
Having been fortunate enough to have every vintage back to 73, i would rank them 1978 Estate, 1974 Napa, then 78 Sonoma, 74 Sonoma and 91 a tie. I would put 84 ahead of 87, and 86 and 87 a tie. I opened a 97 recently and it is very good, but still very young, but has the potential to be as good as the 86 and 87. Just opened an 82, and its just hitting its stride.