Established in 1882 by California entrepreneur Alfred Tubbs, the modern-day Chateau Montelena Winery has been owned and operated by the Barrett family since 1972. In 1976, Chateau Montelena helped put California at the forefront of the wine world when a who’s-who of the French wine and food establishment rated the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay above all other white wines in a blind tasting, convinced that this wine was one of their own. These results proved that Chateau Montelena could produce some of the world’s finest wines, and that California’s wine industry had come of age. Decades later, Chateau Montelena remains committed to producing world class wines with the Barrett family at the helm.
97 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a brilliant wine and one of the gems out there from this estate. It offers crème de cassis, crushed violets, purple iris, and white flowers, with beautifully integrated background oak. It’s deep, rich, medium to full-bodied, and seamless, with fine tannins, truly brilliant purity of fruit, and a great, great finish
96 Points Vinous
A powerful, intense wine, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Montelena exudes depth and textural richness, all with the tannic and structural underpinning that is such a signature of the Montelena Cabernets. Black cherry, plum, lavender, licorice, and smoke build as this voluptuous, racy Cabernet shows off the natural radiance of the year. Although the 2015 has quite a bit of density and raciness, it also retains considerable freshness. This is another drop-dead gorgeous wine from Chateau Montelena.
95 Points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals vibrant cassis, crushed black plums and black raspberries notes with hints of fallen leaves, damp soil, cedar chest and charcoal plus a waft of lavender. Medium-bodied with plenty of lively, crunchy black and red fruits, it has a firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins and a long, youthful finish with the oak still standing out slightly. Give it another 2-3 years in bottle and drink it over the next 25-30+