My wife and I are taking our first trip to Napa in a couple of weeks, and will be stopping by Chateau Montelena. I’ve never had anything of theirs before, so I picked up a bottle of the 2012 Napa Cab, knowing that it would benefit from (substantially more) time.
I thought this might benefit from quite a bit of air, and so opened it right before lunch time to enjoy with a late dinner. I’ve opened a wine and then followed it over a couple of hours before, but never over 8-10 hours like this.
The wine didn’t do much for a while and I thought I’d surely wasted a bottle, but then was rewarded for the patience. A really fun experience.
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2012 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon (Non Estate) Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/18/2016)
Opened and followed over the better part of 10 hours, taking 1oz-ish pours every couple of hours until about eight hours in, where we paired it with rib-eye w/ Sherry cream sauce, goat cheese-mashed potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts chips.
For the first seven or so hours it was quite cherry-dominated and acidic. It then quickly started to add weight and complexity, with notes of cigar box/cedar joining the fruit. Paired great with the steak, and was still on the upswing as we finished the last sip.
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