2012 Chateau Montelena "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (OWC)

“This is the first vintage of Château Montelena’s Cabernet Sauvignon that I have tasted in many years, and I was very happy to check the alcohol level on the wine and find that it comes in at a very civilized 13.8% in 2012. The wine offers up a deep and youthful nose of red and black cherries, tobacco leaf, a dollop of red curry, lovely soil tones, a proper touch of fresh herbs and a discreet framing of cedary new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and impressively light on its feet, with lovely mid-palate intensity, ripe, well-integrated tannins, lovely transparency and a long, primary and impeccably balanced finish. This wine is so beautifully balanced today that it is quite approachable, but it is still a puppy and really needs a good decade in the cellar to start to show its secondary layers of complexity and drink with generosity. It is a terrific young bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon! I must have been missing some terrific recent vintages of cabernet sauvignon from Château Montelena! 93+” (07/2015)

“Surprisingly lush and charming for a young Montelena, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has a deep ruby/purple color, with earthy, black cherry and blackcurrants. The wine has very ripe tannins, and is medium to full-bodied with outstanding purity and balance. (RP)” (01/2015)

“The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is one of the more open-knit, young Cabernets I can remember tasting at Montelena. Crushed flowers, sweet tobacco, mint, red cherries and plums are some of the signatures. Resonant and silky, the 2012 will drink well pretty much upon release, although today it comes across as less expressive than it was last year. Even so, there is plenty of vintage 2012 radiance and suppleness throughout. 93+ (AG)” (10/2015)