| Score: |
92 JG.
"The 1977 Château Montelena “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the riper wines from Napa in this vintage, coming in at 13.4 percent alcohol and offering up fine depth on both the nose and palate. The wine delivers a lovely aromatic combination of red and black cherries, pretty spice tones, cigar smoke, dark soil elements, a touch of petroleum jelly and just a whisper of road tar in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and quite long on the backend, with fine focus and grip and still a bit of ripe tannin perking up the finish. This is a top vintage of Montelena cabernet that is now at its peak, but still has tons of life left." John Gilman, View From the Cellar #82, Aug 2019 |