Wine of the Week!

Chateau Montelena 2004   $26  
Estate Zinfandel

This week the Wine of the Week choice comes from one of the great names in American wine… Chateau Montelena of the Napa Valley.  The pick is 2004 Montelena Estate Zinfandel.

Chateau Montelena is best known for Cabernet and Chardonnay… and rightly so.  They are consistently among the best made every year.  But we think the Zinfandel is something special too. 

Many Zins can be overly jammy and alcoholic.  Not Montelena.  This Zin is "cabernet elegant” to our taste.  It’s definitely full of deep plum and blackberry flavors with the classic touch of pepperiness that’s so Zin.

We tasted it at the winery… which should be on your must visit list if you’re in Napa.  And at about twenty six dollars a bottle it’s a great match with everything from grilled lamb chops to barbecue basted salmon. 

Chateau Montelena 2004 Estate Zinfandel.  Another Wine of the Week choice from winexperience.com.   Pop the Cork™. Wine on the Radio – May 18, 2007

Winemaker's Notes

After a fairly normal and mild growing season, vintage 2004 really turned up the heat in early September. Our attention to detail, along with many years of experience on the Estate vineyard, equipped us to deal with the sudden onset of high temperatures, strong drying winds, and exceptionally low humidity. I am very proud that we managed to capture the full fresh flavor of the Zinfandel variety when many of the grapes could just have easily turned to raisins. That may be fine for Port, but not for Montelena Estate Zinfandel.

Vintage Weather
We walked the Zinfandel vineyards at least twice daily in order to identify the rows, even the clusters, ready for picking. To harvest the grapes at optimum condition we picked only at night. The fruit was carefully sorted, first in the field and later on the shaker table. We de-stemmed all the grapes, rather than crush them, in order to get more whole berries into the tanks. During vinification the free run wine flavors were so different and appealing, even compared with the lightest pressing of the skins, that we selected only free-run juice for this wine. I don’t mind telling you that, when you get this wine in the glass, you will see how all of the extra attention has really paid off.

Tasting Notes
It is a nice looking wine, showing dark ruby-red color to the edge of the glass. In the Chateau Montelena tradition, this is an elegant, restrained, claret style Zinfandel. On the nose it has opulent, spicy black cherry varietal character, appealing briar and smoke overtones, and a layered, elegant structure. The palate is nicely balanced, with a bit of pepper and briar, and a refined texture. Overall this wine is tasty and fresh, offering bright fruit in a well balanced, suave package. Try it yourself, and see why we are so proud of this Zinfandel from a challenging harvest.In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine and food establishment gathered for a grand tasting at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Paris. Four white Burgundies were tasted against six California Chardonnays. When the scores were tallied, the French Judges were convinced that the top-ranking white wine was one of their own. In fact, it was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay, rated above all other wines. 

Notes on our Wines of the Week, Recommendations, and Picks:

When you read our thoughts, please remember that you may think differently.  A particular wine may be your favorite and not on our list.  Well, don't stop buying it because of that.  In fact, you may want to email us and let us know about it. These are our opinions but our FIRST recommendation is to go by your own palate.

A couple of other thoughts . . . first, prices are approximate.  They'll vary.  Second, different vintages mean different grapes and different tastes so our recommendation for a 2000 Merlot may not hold for 2001.

And lastly, we remind you to drink responsibly!  Now, all that said, here is a summary of  links to our suggestions.  Find one (or more) and pop the cork!

Read the fine print . . .

Wine consumption can have positive physical benefits or cause possible physical harm . . . the medical community is divided in some areas.  If you have any doubt, check with your doctor before consuming wine or any other alcoholic drink. 

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