Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon California Napa 2019

  2019 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley The Wine Advocate RP 91 Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski Drink Date: 2023 - 2033 The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley includes 9% Merlot from a vineyard in Oak Knoll and spent 16 months in 28% new French oak, with a bit of Hungarian as well. It offers up textbook notes of cherries and redcurrants, plus a hint of vanilla, all in an easy-drinking, medium to full-bodied format. The tannins are silky, and the acids are tart in this moderately concentrated effort that should provide enjoyable drinking over the next 10 years or so. One of the historic California estates that put Napa on the map following the Paris Tasting of 1976, for some reason Chateau Montelena was largely neglected by my immediate predecessor at RPWA. There is always something new to chase, so I suspect it was more that than anything else. It can sometimes be difficult to find a reason to visit longtime estates that just continue along, turning