Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from Chateau Montelena
![Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2004 1.5Ltr](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/13/13983193a25e320e663604310652156b.jpg)
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2004
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$488.28
Dark ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black fruits, spices, volcanic minerality and earth, plus a sexy note of coffee...
![Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2010 1.5Ltr](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/1a/1a59c7540d44db0ac421eb84cb16e904.jpg)
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2010
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$638.38
Bright red-ruby. Exceptional aromatic purity and complexity to the aromas of blueberry, cassis, cocoa powder, mocha,...
![Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2016 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/be/be54f00d81050586bf0a6ebd693ac21d.jpg)
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2016
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$209.00
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is dark, ample and totally seductive. Black cherry, mocha, plum, spice, new...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$148.95
Super classic scents of sweet tobacco, dried flowers, mint, licorice and dried cherries emerge from Montelena's 2011...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$154.85
$163.00
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley includes 9% Merlot from a vineyard in Oak Knoll and spent 16 months in 28%...
More Details
Winery
Chateau Montelena
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Since their conception in 18th century France, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes have flourished across the Old and New Worlds and have changed the way we think about red wine forever. Their sharp and astringent nature has a wonderful ability to mellow and round with age, and when helped by being blended with Merlot and Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc varietals – as is done in Bordeaux and elsewhere – the results can be truly remarkable. What is most special about Cabernet Sauvignon grapes is the fact that they have a true affinity for oak, and when aged in barrels made of this fragrant wood, the wine which comes out of them a few years later holds an amazing array of flavors and aromas, making Cabernet Sauvignon based wines some of the most memorable in the world. Single variety bottles from the New World made from this grape are also increasing in popularity, as the strong flavors and full-bodied nature of these wines is a great match for many global cuisines.
Region: California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Country: United States
For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.
Appellation: Napa Valley
In the United States of America, one wine region seems to stand head and shoulders above all others. The Napa Valley of California has long been considered one of the world's premier wine regions, and the wineries which operate in this idyllic landscape now have generations of expertise when it comes to coaxing the very finest flavors and aromas from the imported varietals which thrive there. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel have become the flagship grape varietals of the Napa Valley, however, recent years have seen much expansion and experimentation undertaken by the large and small wineries which call the valley their home. With ideal climatic conditions for viticulture, and wonderfully rich and fertile soils, the Napa Valley continues to grow and impress each year.