2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

Readers who enjoy classically built wines will find much to admire in these new releases from Chateau Montelena. Proprietor Bo Barrett and winemaker Matt Crafton turned out a gorgeous Chardonnay in 2017, while the bottled 2016 Cabernets are terrific. In particular, the straight Napa Valley Cabernet is a superb wine for the money. I also tasted the 2017 Estate Cabernet from barrel. It is a minor miracle that Barrett and Crafton were able to make such a promising wine given the severity of the fires that fall.

What I really wanted to know from Bo Barrett this spring was the true story of the blonde babe who, according to the movie "Bottle Shock," worked at Chateau Montelena in 1976, the year of the famous Paris tasting. What a letdown: she was a plot device (hey, it worked for me). Other news here, of course, is that the blockbuster purchase of Chateau Montelena by Michel Reybier, owner of Cos d'Estournel, fell through in part because of the sharp rise in the value of the dollar not long after the deal was announced. However, Chateau Montelena appears set to make a number of key improvements that Reybier had called for during the original negotiations, including the redesign and reconstruction of their winemaking facility and cellar within the old "chateau." Barrett described the 2007 vintage here as an easy one, with good ripeness. "We picked chardonnay in early September, which is good, and then we took our time for the cabernet." He went on: "There was lower fruit quantity in 2006 due to the extreme heat during the second half of July and a second hot spell around Labor Day, but we still consider '06 to have been a late and cool year; by comparison 2007 is a more showy vintage, a louder vintage." Barrett emphasized that Montelena has never been among the latest pickers: "Our wines have to age, so we don't pick overripe fruit."

What I really wanted to know from Bo Barrett this spring was the true story of the blonde babe who, according to the movie "Bottle Shock," worked at Chateau Montelena in 1976, the year of the famous Paris tasting. What a letdown: she was a plot device (hey, it worked for me). Other news here, of course, is that the blockbuster purchase of Chateau Montelena by Michel Reybier, owner of Cos d'Estournel, fell through in part because of the sharp rise in the value of the dollar not long after the deal was announced. However, Chateau Montelena appears set to make a number of key improvements that Reybier had called for during the original negotiations, including the redesign and reconstruction of their winemaking facility and cellar within the old "chateau." Barrett described the 2007 vintage here as an easy one, with good ripeness. "We picked chardonnay in early September, which is good, and then we took our time for the cabernet." He went on: "There was lower fruit quantity in 2006 due to the extreme heat during the second half of July and a second hot spell around Labor Day, but we still consider '06 to have been a late and cool year; by comparison 2007 is a more showy vintage, a louder vintage." Barrett emphasized that Montelena has never been among the latest pickers: "Our wines have to age, so we don't pick overripe fruit."

Bo Barrett described the young 2005 estate cabernet as "a very easy wine, like a great horse or a good dog." He also expressed the opinion that the 2005 has more depth than the 2004, as the vines had a tougher time in the heat and drought of the earlier year. Two thousand four, he went on, is a heat-driven vintage like '96, '91 and '84. "I can easily imagine the wine aging for a very long time, but I wonder how complex it will be," he said, "like the '87, which is still full of life but has been in a state of suspended animation for years." The 2005, in comparison, should enjoy a more graceful aging curve.

"Vintages 2003 and 2004 featured Aussie-style surmaturite," noted winemaker Bo Barrett. "The growing seasons were so warm that the terroir was overshadowed by ripe fruit. But I want the 2004 to taste like it's from a hot year. Part of my job is to capture that slice of time. The vintages should be different. "Barrett added that the terroir comes through more clearly in 2002 and 2005. "The 2002 growing season was cooler at the time of the harvest, and that made the difference. "Barrett is one of a few winemakers who believes that sunburn was especially problematic in 2004 because the fruit had never built up an immunity to strong sun through the mostly cool summer and was especially affected by the heat wave in early September.

"Vintages 2003 and 2004 featured Aussie-style surmaturite," noted winemaker Bo Barrett. "The growing seasons were so warm that the terroir was overshadowed by ripe fruit. But I want the 2004 to taste like it's from a hot year. Part of my job is to capture that slice of time. The vintages should be different. "Barrett added that the terroir comes through more clearly in 2002 and 2005. "The 2002 growing season was cooler at the time of the harvest, and that made the difference. "Barrett is one of a few winemakers who believes that sunburn was especially problematic in 2004 because the fruit had never built up an immunity to strong sun through the mostly cool summer and was especially affected by the heat wave in early September.

The Barretts briefly considered rigging their vineyards with misting machines after their experience the past three Septembers with spells of hot and extremely dry weather.But Bo Barrett examined the past three decades of weather data and hypothesized that this phenomenon is cyclical, rather than a long-term weather pattern change on California's NorthCoast.The standouts here continue to be the Estate cabernet, which has been consistently strong in recent years.This is not a cabernet in today's 15% mold."We make table wines here," explained Barrett, "and table wines by definition are under 15% alcohol.We don't like sunburned fruit."

The Barretts briefly considered rigging their vineyards with misting machines after their experience the past three Septembers with spells of hot and extremely dry weather.But Bo Barrett examined the past three decades of weather data and hypothesized that this phenomenon is cyclical, rather than a long-term weather pattern change on California's NorthCoast.The standouts here continue to be the Estate cabernet, which has been consistently strong in recent years.This is not a cabernet in today's 15% mold."We make table wines here," explained Barrett, "and table wines by definition are under 15% alcohol.We don't like sunburned fruit."

In 2001, the temperatures cooled down during the second half of the summer, and the harvest for red grapes was spread out over an extended period," said assistant winemaker Nile Zacherle. For the estate cabernet in particular, we were able to wait for every block to ripen to its full potential."

In 2001, the temperatures cooled down during the second half of the summer, and the harvest for red grapes was spread out over an extended period," said assistant winemaker Nile Zacherle. For the estate cabernet in particular, we were able to wait for every block to ripen to its full potential."

Assistant winemaker Nile Zacherle described the 2000 vintage as a slow-ripening, large vintage with a relaxed harvest. The fruit managed to retain acidity well. In 1999, in contrast, the ripeness of clusters was less regular, and there was a stampede to pick." I was surprised to learn that the '99 was only racked a total of three times, which Zacherle explained was "to preserve fruit and avoid drying the tannins. We used to rack more in the '80s because the tannins were tougher then, less ripe and sweet." Beginning in 2000, Montelena is rapidly shifting to whole-cluster fermentation of chardonnay, which Zacherle says eliminated the need to fine the 2000. In '99, all of the chardonnay grapes were crushed, in 2000 the wine was fermented with 45% whole clusters, and in 2001 with 75%.

Assistant winemaker Nile Zacherle described the 2000 vintage as a slow-ripening, large vintage with a relaxed harvest. The fruit managed to retain acidity well. In 1999, in contrast, the ripeness of clusters was less regular, and there was a stampede to pick." I was surprised to learn that the '99 was only racked a total of three times, which Zacherle explained was "to preserve fruit and avoid drying the tannins. We used to rack more in the '80s because the tannins were tougher then, less ripe and sweet." Beginning in 2000, Montelena is rapidly shifting to whole-cluster fermentation of chardonnay, which Zacherle says eliminated the need to fine the 2000. In '99, all of the chardonnay grapes were crushed, in 2000 the wine was fermented with 45% whole clusters, and in 2001 with 75%.

Bo Barrett is one of several North Coast winemakers who are apparently having second thoughts about the suitability of sangiovese on their sites. "The sangiovese here is inky and earthy, and not at all productive," said Barrett. As a result, Montelena is replanting five acres of sangiovese to primitivo and zin, with the objective of restoring the original estate zin, which will include just 10% sangiovese. In the meantime, said Barrett, "we look for big mouth feel in the St. Vincent bottling, with no late grit—like Aussie-style Rhones." Among other recent developments here has been the decision to age the Calistoga Cuvee in barrel for 18 months beginning with the '98, rather than keeping it in large casks for six months and then holding it in bottle for another year before releasing it. "We want to make a proper Napa Valley cabernet out of the Cuvee," explained Barrett. "We've given up on that cabernet-lite stuff."

Bo Barrett is one of several North Coast winemakers who are apparently having second thoughts about the suitability of sangiovese on their sites. "The sangiovese here is inky and earthy, and not at all productive," said Barrett. As a result, Montelena is replanting five acres of sangiovese to primitivo and zin, with the objective of restoring the original estate zin, which will include just 10% sangiovese. In the meantime, said Barrett, "we look for big mouth feel in the St. Vincent bottling, with no late grit—like Aussie-style Rhones." Among other recent developments here has been the decision to age the Calistoga Cuvee in barrel for 18 months beginning with the '98, rather than keeping it in large casks for six months and then holding it in bottle for another year before releasing it. "We want to make a proper Napa Valley cabernet out of the Cuvee," explained Barrett. "We've given up on that cabernet-lite stuff."

The 1997 vintage here featured generous crop levels, yet I found these wines to be livelier and deeper than the '96s, with suaver, more thoroughly ripe tannins. Incidentally, assistant winemaker Gerard Zanzonico describes the 1998 estate cabernet as a rich wine with superb depth of flavor; the harvest basically came a full month later than that of 1997. My early look at this wine toward the end of its long secondary fermentation revealed a wine with terrific density, extract and acidity.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.

My extraordinary opportunity to taste every Montelena cabernet made from the estate vineyard in Calistoga turned up an amazing number of outstanding vintages, with the releases from the '90s clearly the most balanced wines made to date. Asked to describe his cabernet, winemaker Bo Barrett says simply: "Very deeply colored, with earth and berry aromas, more loamy than mineral." French oak, roughly 20% new, has always been used for this wine, says Barrett, because the dill component of American oak would clash with the cassis character of his wine. "American oak can go with the bell pepper, black pepper and herbal character of other California cabernets," he adds.The original 70 acres of vines-65 cabernet sauvignon and 5 cab franc-were planted in 1972 and 1974 on volcanic and alluvial soils; a 20-acre hillside parcel added in 1989 has made up a small portion of the blend since the 1994 vintage. The target is about three tons of fruit per acre, and the yield rarely exceeds three and a half. Since 1982, annual production of the estate cabernet has averaged about 12,000 cases.Barrett technique has evolved considerably in recent years. "Over the '82-'89 period we used a grape disintegrater that tore up the stems and gave a certain bitterness to the wine," admits Barrett, who notes that in the 1990 vintage he addressed this bitterness by extending the maceration time up to 45 days for half the crop. After the 1990 vintage, the winery bought a gentler destemmer but continued with extended maceration, keeping a portion of the wine on its skins for a full three weeks after the alcohol fermentation had finished. "At that point we were getting huge tannins but ripe tannins," says Barrett. "Then, with the '94 vintage, we decided that the long maceration, the pulverization of the tannins, was not required." In fact, with the '97 vintage, the lots that underwent extended maceration were removed from the blend. Barrett, incidentally, describes the '97 as a huge crop from thick-skinned grapes, and predicts that it will be the best wine he has made to date.The Montelena estate cabernets since 1990 have also been more consistently clean than those of the '80s, with little sign of the strong earthy, sweaty, cigar ash character that was apparent in some early years. Barrett singles out the '92, '89, '83 and '80 as relatively "buggy" wines, due to relatively high levels of malolactic bacteria.