Chateau Montelena

At the very northern end of the Napa Valley, not far from the town of Calistoga in California, lies the Chateau Montelena estate, located in the shadow of Mount St. Helena. The stone winery, built on a hillside next to a lake and a Chinese-style garden, is one of the most famous sites in American winemaking, largely thanks to a single event: its 1973 Chardonnay outperformed the finest white Burgundy wines at the 1976 Paris Tasting.

History

The estate was founded in 1882 by Alfred Tubbs, a San Francisco entrepreneur who made his fortune manufacturing ropes during the Gold Rush. He purchased 254 acres at the foot of Mount St Helena, and by 1896 his vineyard had become the seventh largest in the Napa Valley. Following Prohibition, the estate changed hands several times and was purchased by the Frank family from Hong Kong, who built a Chinese garden and Jade Lake.

In 1972, Los Angeles property lawyer Jim Barrett bought the run-down estate, replanted the vineyards and resumed wine production, inviting Mike Grgich to be the first winemaker. Four years later, the famous 1973 Chardonnay won the Paris Tasting. A single bottle of this wine is now held at the Smithsonian Institution. Jim’s son, Bo, took over wine production in 1982 and, following Jim’s death in 2013, became managing director.

The winery remains under the management of the Barrett family, and the estate is officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Vineyards

The estate comprises around 48 hectares of vineyards, situated adjacent to the winery at the bottom of the valley and on the lower slopes surrounding the chateau, as well as extensive cave tunnels carved into the hillside for ageing the wine.

Terroir

This is the northernmost and warmest part of the Napa Valley during the day, but the nights here are surprisingly cool thanks to air currents from the Russian River area to the west and the cooling effect of nearby Mount St. Helena. This alternation of hot days and cool nights helps the grapes ripen fully whilst retaining their acidity.

The soils are a mixture of volcanic and sedimentary types typical of Calistoga, with good drainage. Combined with the stony lower slopes, this lends the wines structure and freshness.

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape variety and the flagship wine, but Chardonnay is no less important to Montelena’s identity, given the results of the Paris competition. Small plantings of Zinfandel and Riesling complete the range.

Winemaking

The approach is fairly classic. The grapes are harvested by hand, selected and sorted. The Cabernet is fermented in stainless steel at warm temperatures, whilst malolactic fermentation takes place in large 1,200-gallon barrels.

Ageing takes place in French oak barrels, with around 20–25% being new barrels, for a period of up to 22 months. The barrels are stored in a network of underground tunnels beneath the estate, bored in a pentagonal pattern during the Barrett era. The Chardonnay is produced in a more austere, European style than is typical for California, and is intended for long-term ageing. Montelena firmly believes in the ageing potential of its wines and maintains a collection of every vintage ever produced.

Wines

The flagship wine is Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, made exclusively from grapes grown in the estate’s own vineyards and intended for long-term ageing.

Next in the range is the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, made from grapes sourced from the estate and other Napa growers. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that made history in 1976 and is still produced in a fresh, restrained style.

The range is complemented by the Napa Valley Zinfandel and, in some years, a small batch of Potter Valley Riesling. Average production is around 50,000 cases per year.

1973 is by far the most legendary vintage of Château Montelena, thanks to the victory in the Paris Tasting!