Saturday Night – Blackout Dinner – Part 2

For the main course, Mick did NY strips, Zippy sauce and fresh corn on the cob and I brought a bottle of 1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Oh yeah, now we are in Flavour Country"

1998 was a funny year for California Cabs as they were some of the lowest rated Cabs in the nineties. They tend to be tannic with not much fruit on the tongue which is very different than the easy drinking fruit-forward style you usually get out of a California Cabernet Sauvignon. And I’d agree with those low ratings if I was sitting in a room trying them with just a glass of water to clear my palate as they aren’t very nice on their own. On the other hand, if you try these same Cabs with a medium-rare NY Strip with nice marbling, my goodness those 1998 Cabs are really good.

"Good-bye 1998, unlike the critics, we'll miss you!"

The nose on the Chateau Montelena Cab consisted of tobacco, leather, coffee, peat, menthol with a hint of fruit lingering around in the background. Tasting the wine on its own you get a very narrow mouth-feel and a taste that almost disappears as it hit your tongue. Surprisingly thought the tannin wasn’t very noticeable at all. With the NY strips this wine came alive; a much fuller mouth-feel, cassis, tobacco and a subtle smoky flavour. This wine was very easy to drink with the food. The toned down fruit makes this wine seem more French than Californian. I was sorry to see this bottle go as it was the last 1998 California Cabernet that Mick or I had left.

I picked this up in the US for $79 (about $129 CDN after duty, exchange and taxes) so this wasn’t a cheap bottle. I picked it up as I knew we had no 1998 left for this year’s blackout dinner. Would I do it again? That is a tough one as it was very good with the NY Strips and I enjoyed it but there are much better wines out there in the this price point so probably not.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick - 88, Mark - 89, Kathy – 86, Amy - 89, Overall – 88

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

CHATEAU MONTELENA THE MONTELENA ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2004

Vintages 709881
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 132.95
Wine, Red Wine,
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Chateau Montelena
Release Date: Aug 30, 2008

Tasting Note - The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from their old vineyards in Calistoga. This is a dense, ruby/purple-tinged wine with full body, and despite the softness of the general vintage, Montelena has plenty of structure. Like nearly every vintage of their top Cabernet Sauvignon, it will last for 25 or more years. The wine has sweet tannin in a broad, flavorful, concentrated style with plenty of black currant, licorice, and spice. The wine is beautifully textured, slightly more forward than most Montelena Cabernets tend to be. It is another beauty from probably the most consistent winery for Cabernet Sauvignon over the last three decades. Drink 2007 to 2037. Score - 94+. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2007)

Note – this is the 2004 and not the 1998 reviewed here

Click here for Part 3