The SOMM Journal

February / March 2018

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16 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 { one woman's view } CHATEAU MONTELENA CEO Bo Bar- rett recalls the days leading up to his first year working in the vineyards of the win- ery in Calistoga, California, quite fondly: "All I did was surf, dive, and ski," he told me. When he joined the team in 1972, Chateau Montelena had just been purchased by his father, the late Jim Bar - rett. Built 90 years earlier, the massive stone structure came with 100 acres of Carignan, Mondeuse, Alicante Bouschet, Burger, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel. It was a trial by fire for the younger Barrett, and his responsibilities only increased the fol - lowing year as he went to work in the old cellars alongside Mike Grgich, Montelena's first winemaker. In January, Bo's recollections served as an introduction to what the winery called the "Dream Tasting," during which five de - cades of Chateau Montelena's wines were presented in two flights in the winery's cellars. Bo either made every wine or was closely involved in their production, and it was clear they represented a trip down memory lane for the 63-year-old wine - maker. "You have to remember we were making wine in a time before there even was a Napa Valley AVA, before there was a Wine Spectator, and before anyone knew of Robert Parker," said Barrett. It was also a time when winemaking itself was considerably different. Most of the Montelena Cabernets were made with about 20 percent new oak until quite recently, and the oldest wines were made using what Barrett called a "solera" of bar - rels—some of which were up to 12 years old. The wines, only roughly destemmed, were so tannic that the winemakers would leave them to macerate as long as 45 days in hopes the tannin would calm down. No one had heard of brettanomyces, and even when the Barretts did, they decided they liked a little bit of it to remain for its flavor. While the fruit may have been handled roughly, the Montelena grapes in the 1970s made some phenomenal Caber - nets (for me, the 1975 and 1979 were particularly stellar). As the tasting moved through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, I made several solid conclusions: First, the Montelena wines have massive structure. Second, if you buy them, you better like brett; the Barretts clearly do, and a funky barnyard character is discernible in many of the vintages (luckily, it's not the Band- Aid or mousy side of brett). And finally, though the wines express a certain level of evolution, they often remain in a singular state for years and go into "stationary orbit," Barrett explained—unlike Chateau Montelena itself, which seems to be evolv - ing just fine. The Dream Continues At left, the instantly-recognizable entrance to Chateau Montelena's winery. At right, Chateau Montelena Owner Bo Barret and Winemaker Matt Crafton at the Dream Tasting. A RETROSPECTIVE TASTING OF CHATEAU MONTELENA CABERNET REVEALS THE SOUL OF AN ESTATE Soil types and five decades of wine were on display at the Chateau Montelena tasting. Karen MacNeil is the author of The Wine Bible and the editor of WineSpeed, the free digital newsletter. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHATEAU MONTELENA

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