2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon “The Montelena Estate”. Calistoga, Napa Valley, California. 14.1% alcohol $110.
A hugely disappointing wine. Tasted eight times with inconsistent results. Some bottles were slightly corked with muted fruit while others were just middling efforts. One bottle was so dirty it was undrinkable and then just when I was ready to give up the sixth bottle tasted like a young Chateau Montelena from a good (but not great) vintage. Based on my experiences only a daredevil would want to cellar these wines – purchasing cases of this wine as an untasted future was a serious mistake on my part. My note, maturity estimate, and score is for the lone good bottle.

Darkly colored with aromas of chocolate brownies, red fruits, a touch of saddle leather, wax, and oak. In the mouth, the wine’s acidity is a little too prominent. Tannins are firm. Good fruit and decent length. Drink 2012 to 2020+. 92 points.

Wow, six bottles!

I think it’s only fair to rate this wine for what it is - very flawed. IMHO, I just don’t see how it’s fair that you can give this a 92. I’ve had every vintage back to ‘97 and each has been flawed with Brett, TCA and/or VA.

Thanks for the honest notes and sorry for the rant. I know a lot of people enjoy this wine, but I just can’t understand how.

We'll see. I have about a case of this and the odds of unloading it for a profit at this point are probably nil. Pretty much no choice at this point but to drink them over time and hope for the best.

I sold all my bottles long ago, some I sold @ cost & some I sold @ a profit. Though, the 2 bottles I had were pretty good bottles of wine. But, considering all the controversy, I don't like to play russian roulette with $70.00-$85.00 dollar bottles of wine.

The note as written is fair imo. It expressly states the problem bottles I have encountered and that the rating only applies to the good bottle that was tasted/discovered.

Chateau Montelena has made some great wines especially Cabernets over the years (the first full case of California Cabernet I ever bought was the 85 Montelena at the then seemingly quite high price of $25 per bottle) and the good bottles from 2001 (however many there are) will develop nicely in the cellar.

I had a couple of good bottles of this but ended up returning some of them simply because my cellar space is at such a premium that I didn't feel like gambling.

I have tasted this from three different .375's and all showed well. Two of the half bottles were tasted next to some pretty heavy hitters such as Rudd, Caymus SS, HdV, Insignia and others that I can't recall. The Montelena wasn't the pick of the litter but it was still a damn fine young wine. Most pegged it as a low nineties effort and I would agree but think there is room for upward movement.

Hmm, this is perplexing. A friend is sending me 2 bottles of the 2001 as a gift, and hopefully they are worthy bottles.

I am opening a 1998 Montelena this weekend, and I recall it being a decent performer from a troubled vintage.

Claret, I had the 1998 Montelena this past weekend at the winery and it is doing fine. A good early drinker (for Montelena). The 2000 falls into the same boat, drinks pretty well now and for probably the next five to ten years and then will probably start to fade.

Skwid-Thanks for the update.

From a 375ml, a very nice Napa cabernet. I typically get rustic cherry notes with Montelenas and this was no exception. I'm in no hurry to open a 750ml, let alone my 3L. Probably the third time I tried the 2001 (first time in a couple years though) and have consistently liked it each time. mm93+

Lots of similar discussion on this thread

This wine has been good every time I tried it.  Clearly my lot was a good one and just as clearly there is a lot of bottle variation out there.

2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/24/2007)
From .375: Decanted 2 hours, consumed over the following 4 hours. Faint red fruit on the nose. Soft and bordeaux-like, dry and almost chalky early in the drinking window, with red fruit back-palate. This wine improved considerably as the evening wore on, adding some weight and complexity but not really hitting the notes I was looking for.

This was tasted alongside a .375 of the 2001 Phelps Insignia, and the Insignia was a better wine overall, with more complexity and a noticeable CaliCab profile, where the Monty was more bordeaux-like in profile and a little "flatter" overall. (0 views) (90 pts.)