The Montelena Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

great balance. Dark plum and garrigue. Smooth and integrated. Supple

quite acidic. Some tannin. Black cherry. Deep fruit

gorgeous texture. Black cherry and spice. Lovely fruit and balance.

good savory fruit. Less sweet. Soft with good balance. Pretty

lovely fruit. A touch of cumin. Good balance and lovely savory fruit. Well considered

Served to me double-blind. The wine appears a deep garnet color, moving to a slight orange rim and a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and desiccated black and red fruits: cassis, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, earth, graphite, the smell of an old Library with rich wood and leather-bound books. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. I called Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from France, Bordeaux, Left Bank, Pauillac, 2000. Wow! This is about as classy as they come. Beautiful showing. Loads of structure. Impressively youthful. Drink now through 2040.

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim. Not showing age at all.

Fruit forward on the nose.

Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing blackberries, black plums, cooked cherries, spices, oak, licorice, vanilla, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, earth and light black tea.

This 24-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still delicious, though I had hoped it would be even better.

Showing nice complexity and mouthfeel, but it feels a little tired.

Needed 2 hours to open up properly, and remove the mildew notes.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and will pair nicely with food too.

A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc.

13.9% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$100.

Dusty with cigar ash.

Great Cabernet with with blue fruit and spice box it aged beautifully

Took hours for funk to blow off. Still drinking ok (not great). At the end of its life. All tertiary. Not holding up nearly as well as mid 90’s mondavi’s.