Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

This one is pretty simple. We were given the incredibly rare opportunity to raid directly from the cellar of one of the most famous wineries in Napa, California, or anywhere on the planet.  Today, Chateau Montelena — the iconic Napa brand known for being one of the best wineries in America for over 125 years is offering us up Library Cabernet selections at unbelievable prices.

In the 2004 vintage, Bo Barrett, one of two winning winemakers in the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris Competition spun together an enormous, intricately woven Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s the kind of dominant, fruit forward Napa Cabs, with bright red fruits, chewy tannins and great acidy that allows this to age wonderfully. Tasted four times, Robert Parker, Jr. continued to upgrade his score as he went along, admiring the wine’s approachability while conceiving it may still be a few years away from it’s peak. In his last review in 2013, he surmised this one would last for “20-25 years”.