Montelena California Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay

Chateau Montelena  California Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay wine producer profile, wine tasting notes, with a history of the property, plus information on their wine making techniques and their soil, along with wine reviews and links.

Chateau Montelena has a long history dating back to 1882. That was the year when Alfred L. Tubbs purchased 254 acres of land in the Calistoga appellation of the Napa valley. Tubbs set to work planting the vines for the purpose of creating his American version of a French chateau that would be right at home in the Bordeaux. Tubbs was so enamored with French wine, he hired a French wine maker and brought him to America to help produce Montelena wines.

 

Montelena became tremendously popular. With its new found fame and wealth, the estate continued expanding until it became the 7th largest winery in Napa. Things continued improving until Prohibition caused all wine making and consumption to grind to a halt. Once the Volstead act was repealed, it took decades for the California wine industry to get back on track.  In 1958, the heirs of Tubbs sold the winery to Yort and Jeanie Frank. Tubbs will always be remembered in Calistoga. The street where Montelena is located on is called Tubbs street. After buying Montelena, the Frank family created the stunning picturesque grounds and gardens that occupy Montelena today.Chateau Montelena was purchased by Jim Barret in 1969. The initial vintages were made from purchased fruit, bought from other growers in the area. 1978 was the vintage using estate grown fruit.

 

Montelena had become immensely popular by the middle of the 1970′s. But what really made the wines reputation was all because of a blind wine tasting held in Paris in June, 1976. The event was billed as The Judgment of Paris. At the tasting, Chateau Montelena and other wines, including some of the top Bordeaux wines of the day were pitted against each other in a blind tasting. The nine tasters picked to judge the tasting were well-known and established in the wine industry. During the competition, the judges were asked to blind taste 4 white Burgundies against various California Chardonnay’s, California Pinot Noirs were paired against red Grand Crus Burgundy and Bordeaux wine was arranged to be tasted next to California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Prior to the tasting, which received an extraordinary amount of publicity in the pre-Internet days, many people were willing to bet money that the French wines would easily triumph. Comments heard around the table during the event quoted the judges as saying: “Ah, back to France!” exclaimed one judge sipping a 1972 Napa Chardonnay.  “That is definitely California. It has no nose,” said another judge after tasting a Batard Montrachet.  After the ballots were cast and later revealed, the red wines with the highest scores were Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ ’72 from the Napa Valley, followed by Mouton-Rothschild ’70, Haut-Brion ’70 and Montrose ’70. The four winning whites were, in order, 1973 Chateau Montelena, 1973 Meursault-Charmes and two other Californians, 1974 Chalone from Monterey County and Napa’s 1973 Spring Mountain.  At the time, Jim Barrett, the general manager of Montelena stated, “Not bad for kids from the sticks.” The success of Montelena is owed to Jim Barret. His efforts, along with Bo Barret, his sons work help keep Montelena on solid ground. 

In July, 2008, a deal was struck to sell Chateau Montelena to Chateau Cos d’Estournel from Bordeaux. At some point, the relationship between the Barret family, the owners of Montelena and Michel Reybier became contentious and the deal fell apart. A law suit was filed and Montelena eventually won a judgment. Jim Barrett passed away, March 15, 2013 at the age of 86. Aside from his work in creating the modern era for Chateau Montelena, Jim Barrett remains known for his term as President of the Napa Valley Vintners, his service on the board of governors of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula and his efforts with Family Wine Makers. Jim Barrett remained dedicated to his Irish roots as a loyal member of the “Irish Order of the Wine Geese,” a wine group focused on the Irish connection to the wine industry at large.

Traditional in style, the wine of Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon is fermented in stainless steel at warm temperatures. Malolactic fermentation takes place in large 1,200 gallon casks. The wine is aged in 20% to 25% new oak for up to 22 months. 

Montelena produces Montelena Estate Cabernet, Napa Valley Chardonnay,  Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Riesling.