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Chateau Montelena - Cabernet Sauvignon label

Chateau Montelena - Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Red Wine

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Item# 70715-12

Vinification

Chateau Montelena's Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is made up of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine is aged in French and Eastern European oak barrels (16% new) for 14 months.

Vintage

2012, the old Calistoga vines woke up to a beautiful, mild spring that dovetailed into classic ripening weather for Cabernet. Summertime temperatures were pleasantly warm by mid-afternoon, with just a little bit of chill each morning from the fog that sneaks in from northern Knight’s Valley. That marine layer gives the vines a chance to ease into the day and helps preserve the acidity that remains a hallmark of this wine, especially in the dry-farmed vineyards. It's rare to get incredible flavor development and high yields in the same year, but 2012 was definitely a bumper crop and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the power, elegance, and nuance in the fruit we harvested. The key word here is 'balance' – both in the vines and in the wines.

Wine

The wines at Chateau Montelena are often described as having classic “old-world” structure with ripe California fruit. What that means is that these wines tend to have more acid, lower pH and more moderate alcohol levels as compared to some of the flashy “modern” Cabs. This classic chemistry allows them to pair very well with a wide variety of dishes and sets them up for graceful aging.