I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
Cabernet. We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
hoc get together of food and wine. Lots of fun. I started with a
glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. Fairly golden in the
glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. Nice fruity profile on the
palate.

I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. The
wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
age. FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
and intact. The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
fair amount of cassis. Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
of Bordeaux. Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
on the palate. "B+"

On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:40:50 -0700 (PDT), "Bi!!" >
wrote:

>I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
>Cabernet. We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
>hoc get together of food and wine. Lots of fun. I started with a
>glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. Fairly golden in the
>glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. Nice fruity profile on the
>palate.
>
>I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
>about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. The
>wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
>age. FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
>expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
>and intact. The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
>fair amount of cassis. Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
>of Bordeaux. Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
>on the palate. "B+"

Inquiring minds want to know, how did you acquire a double magnum?
Purchased at the winery? Bought at auction?

Ch. Montelena has long been a favorite of mine, but surprisingly I
don't see it on many wine lists anymore. Ten or twelve years ago it
was fairly common at my haunts in Santa Fe, Taos and Colorado.

On 6/10/11 10:40 AM, Bi!! wrote:
> I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
> Cabernet. We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
> hoc get together of food and wine. Lots of fun. I started with a
> glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. Fairly golden in the
> glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. Nice fruity profile on the
> palate.
>
> I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
> about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. The
> wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
> age. FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
> expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
> and intact. The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
> fair amount of cassis. Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
> of Bordeaux. Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
> on the palate. "B+"

Wow. I expect that, especially in large format bottles, '94 Ch.
Montelena is still a decade or two from complete readiness. It sounds
like your bottle was a bit closed down, Bill.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jun 10, 11:25*am, Ed Rasimus > wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:40:50 -0700 (PDT), "Bi!!" >
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
> >Cabernet. *We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
> >hoc get together of food and wine. *Lots of fun. *I started with a
> >glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. *Fairly golden in the
> >glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. *Nice fruity profile on the
> >palate.
>
> >I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
> >about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. *The
> >wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
> >age. *FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
> >expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
> >and intact. *The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
> >fair amount of cassis. *Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
> >of Bordeaux. *Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
> >on the palate. "B+"
>
> Inquiring minds want to know, how did you acquire a double magnum?
> Purchased at the winery? Bought at auction?
>
> Ch. Montelena has long been a favorite of mine, but surprisingly I
> don't see it on many wine lists anymore. Ten or twelve years ago it
> was fairly common at my haunts in Santa Fe, Taos and Colorado.

I bought it at the winery on release during a trip to Napa. I think
that the cork taint issue beginning with the 2001 vintage has really
had an impact on the wine from a sales and marketing perspective and
perhpas some internal issues have fundamentally changed the quality or
style of the wine.

On Jun 10, 11:30*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 6/10/11 10:40 AM, Bi!! wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
> > Cabernet. *We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
> > hoc get together of food and wine. *Lots of fun. *I started with a
> > glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. *Fairly golden in the
> > glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. *Nice fruity profile on the
> > palate.
>
> > I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
> > about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. *The
> > wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
> > age. *FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
> > expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
> > and intact. *The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
> > fair amount of cassis. *Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
> > of Bordeaux. *Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
> > on the palate. "B+"
>
> Wow. *I expect that, especially in large format bottles, '94 Ch.
> Montelena is still a decade or two from complete readiness. *It sounds
> like your bottle was a bit closed down, Bill.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

It was a bit closed and a bit more mature than I expected. I think
the ripeness levels were a bit higher than normal for Montelena in
1994 and it was the beginning of the plush tannin and push towards
riper fleshier styles that began to overtake Napa in the 90's.

On Jun 10, 9:10*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Jun 10, 11:30*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 6/10/11 10:40 AM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> > > I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
> > > Cabernet. *We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
> > > hoc get together of food and wine. *Lots of fun. *I started with a
> > > glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. *Fairly golden in the
> > > glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. *Nice fruity profile on the
> > > palate.
>
> > > I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
> > > about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. *The
> > > wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
> > > age. *FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
> > > expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
> > > and intact. *The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
> > > fair amount of cassis. *Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
> > > of Bordeaux. *Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
> > > on the palate. "B+"
>
> > Wow. *I expect that, especially in large format bottles, '94 Ch.
> > Montelena is still a decade or two from complete readiness. *It sounds
> > like your bottle was a bit closed down, Bill.
>
> > Mark Lipton
>
> > --
> > alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net
>
> It was a bit closed and a bit more mature than I expected. *I think
> the ripeness levels were a bit higher than normal for Montelena in
> 1994 and it was the beginning of the plush tannin and push towards
> riper fleshier styles that began to overtake Napa in the 90's.

Since it is a large format bottle, the cork may have been inserted
manually -- that is, using a manually operated corking device, rather
than a pneumatic corker -- that draws a vacuum in the bottle -- which
is used for high-volume bottling of 750s. This might account for the
asymmetrical cork. It may also account for faster aging, because more
oxygen would be in the ullage. Just a possibility, as I know nothing
about cellar practices at Montelana.

Andy

On Jun 11, 6:47*pm, AyTee > wrote:
> On Jun 10, 9:10*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 10, 11:30*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
> > > On 6/10/11 10:40 AM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> > > > I opened a double magnum last night of 1994 Chateau Montelena Estate
> > > > Cabernet. *We had a fairly large group of neighbors put together an ad
> > > > hoc get together of food and wine. *Lots of fun. *I started with a
> > > > glass of Nino Franco "Rustico" Prosecco NV. *Fairly golden in the
> > > > glass, nice nose of yeasty berries. *Nice fruity profile on the
> > > > palate.
>
> > > > I opened the 1994 Double Mag of Chateau Montelena Estate Napa Cabernet
> > > > about an hour before drilnking and decanted into three decanters. *The
> > > > wine was dark purple with a brickish cast to it certainly showing some
> > > > age. *FWIW, the cork was really quite short on one side as if it never
> > > > expanded on that dise when it was inserted however it was still tight
> > > > and intact. *The nose showed a lot of cedar and lead pencil with a
> > > > fair amount of cassis. *Still firm and rich on the palate reminding me
> > > > of Bordeaux. *Lots of blackberry, black currant, tobacco and leather
> > > > on the palate. "B+"
>
> > > Wow. *I expect that, especially in large format bottles, '94 Ch.
> > > Montelena is still a decade or two from complete readiness. *It sounds
> > > like your bottle was a bit closed down, Bill.
>
> > > Mark Lipton
>
> > > --
> > > alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net
>
> > It was a bit closed and a bit more mature than I expected. *I think
> > the ripeness levels were a bit higher than normal for Montelena in
> > 1994 and it was the beginning of the plush tannin and push towards
> > riper fleshier styles that began to overtake Napa in the 90's.
>
> Since it is a large format bottle, the cork may have been inserted
> manually *-- that is, using a manually operated corking device, rather
> than a pneumatic corker -- that draws a vacuum in the bottle -- which
> is used for high-volume bottling of 750s. This might account for the
> asymmetrical cork. It may also account for faster aging, because more
> oxygen would be in the ullage. Just a possibility, as I know nothing
> about cellar practices at Montelana.
>
> Andy- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

This makes sense and expalins the odd cork. Thanks it was puzzling me!