TN--2001 Chateau Montelena

[Jim Friedman]

We brought this with us for our Chicago trip last weekend. We popped and poured at the restaurant and this wine was excellent. It tasted younger than a 20 year old and was in a perfect place.Very smooth with great fruit. I know it has received many mixed reviews but this bottle rocked.

[Brian Lynch]

Nice. Have a good stash and will have to pop one for my bday in May.

[Kevin Patrick]

Good to hear.

I forget the professional reviewer that trashed this wine but I have conservatively drank a case of 2001 Chateau Montelena over the years and all were very good. I still have a few kicking around that I will be sure to finish off soon.

[Howard Cooper]

Chateau Montelena wines are more structured and less flashy than many California Cabs when young. Thus, people used to drinking California wines that are as good as they will get when first released are not going to like these wines. But, they age incredibly well. I bet your wine is even better in another decade. When we did a Montelena vertical about 5 years ago or so, it was sort of the older the better. My favorite wine was a 1978 Sonoma. Fabulous wine.

[Michael S. Monie]

Good to hear.

I forget the professional reviewer that trashed this wine but I have conservatively drank a case of 2001 Chateau Montelena over the years and all were very good. I still have a few kicking around that I will be sure to finish off soon.

Pretty sure that it was Laube. Didn't they have TCA issues around this time period?

[Brian Lynch]

I agree with Howard and Michael's observations

[Scott Stewart]

Pretty sure that it was Laube. Didn't they have TCA issues around this time period?

It was but I believe that by 2001 they had mostly corrected the issues. We have had 7 so far and all were drinking very well. Eleven left, should last us a decade or more.