Château Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

wa98ws95

BN#129914

Winemaker's Notes Harvest 1997 was the stuff of legends. It was one of those years where making wine was big fun! The Montelena crew will tell the story of the Mighty `97 to our grandchildren. Crush was wild and intense, all different varieties coming in at the same time, fantastic weather, lots of grapes, lots of excitement and energy. It was awesome. The vintage quality is remarkable for several reasons, and several anomalies, all to the good. The grapes ripened early with a heavy crop - usually big crops are slow to ripen. The weather during Harvest was great with warm days and cool evenings - perfect ripening weather. If we could have ordered it a la carte it could not have been better. The berry size was very small - an anomaly in a big yield year. In fact, we had trouble pumping the Cabernet from the crusher to the tanks because it was so dry… mostly skins! This is normally associated with very low crop years like 1987 and 1996. In 1997 the bins and gondolas were heavy, as in a big berry year, but it was because we had many small bunches and lower stem percentage than normal. So the intensity of the vintage is very high, plus there is good volume. Many barrels were filled with good stuff!

Vintage Weather Temperate Consistent. Average rainfall, warm winter and spring, mild summer. Slow ripening and wonderful weather during harvest, warm days and cool mornings. Large crop, the wine is very dense and extremely flavorful.

Tasting Notes - The resulting wine is pretty much what we experienced all along. It is highly extracted and is really built for the long run with the balance we always seek, and will probably be very youthful on release. When tasted for these notes I gave it a good slosh of air to open it up, and for the first few years a good decant or opening it well ahead of time will be a good idea. There is the trademark Montelena earthy, berry fruit, smoky and rich with many subtleties. On the palate it has a big juicy front, a very full texture and many layers of flavors in a rich cross section of fruit and terroir. In summary it is the mother of all nineties Cabs and a great example of the Montelena Estate vineyard from an excellent vintage. As we have aptly demonstrated from wines like our 1978, this tasty wine has the right stuff to provide you decades of reward. Bo Barrett, Winemaker

Actual bottle from our inventory is pictured. These bottles are in excellent condition, from their original case and all fills are into the neck. All bottles are as good or better than the bottle pictured.

Also available:
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1984
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1985
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1986
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1989
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1990
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1991
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1993
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1994
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1995
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1996
Montelena Cabernet Estate 1999
Montelena Cabernet Estate 2000
Montelena Cabernet Estate 2001
Montelena Cabernet Estate 2002
Montelena Cabernet Estate 2003
Montelena Cabernet Estate Magnum 1997

Wine Advocate

There are 10,200 cases of the remarkable 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Opaque purple-colored with a dense, chewy, full-bodied personality, it displays abundant cassis, mineral, and earth notes. This brilliantly made, super-concentrated, pure, blockbuster possesses sweet tannin as well as a terrific finish. Having added additional weight since last year, this sumptuous, multilayered, profoundly concentrated Cabernet contains 14% alcohol. It is a candidate for 25-30 years of longevity. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2030.

Score: 98. —Robert Parker, December 2000.

Wine Spectator

This California Cab serves up lots of ripe, supple black cherry, currant and plum-laced flavors, as well as pretty touches of earth, anise and mineral. Turns smooth and supple, finishing with polished tannins. Best from 2001 through 2015. 11,700 cases made.

Score: 95. —James Laube, October 31, 2000.