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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2011
$48.84
Chardonnay
United States
California
Napa Valley
750ml
12B / $46.56
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2015
$42.05
Chardonnay
United States
California
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2019
$46.75
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California
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Closest Match
2021
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California
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2021
$37.66
Chardonnay
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More wines available from Chateau Montelena
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2004
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
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Dark ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black fruits, spices, volcanic minerality and earth, plus a sexy note of coffee...
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2010
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Bottle:
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Bright red-ruby. Exceptional aromatic purity and complexity to the aromas of blueberry, cassis, cocoa powder, mocha,...
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2012
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$165.13
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is one of the more open-knit, young Cabernets I can remember tasting at Montelena....
Pre-Arrival
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2016
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$210.59
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is dark, ample and totally seductive. Black cherry, mocha, plum, spice, new...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
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Super classic scents of sweet tobacco, dried flowers, mint, licorice and dried cherries emerge from Montelena's 2011...
More Details
Winery
Chateau Montelena
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
Region: California
When it comes to New World wine regions, it is widely agreed that many of the finest wines are grown and produced in California. The long stretches of coastline and the valleys and mountainsides which come off them are ideal areas for vine cultivation, and for over a century now, wineries have found a perfect home in the hot, dry state, with many of the wines produced here going on to reach world class status. The state is greatly helped by the brisk oceanic winds which cool the otherwise hot and dry vineyards, which hold mineral rich soils covering vast areas and featuring many established wineries. The state is split into four main regions, the largest by far being the central valley which stretches over three hundred miles in length.
Country: United States
The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.
Appellation: Napa Valley
There are few places on earth quite as ideal for viticulture and wine production as California's Napa Valley, a place which is now considered something of a spiritual home for the American wine industry. For generations now, Napa Valley has consistently produced the finest wines to come out of the United States, and has used its ideal climate and terroir to coax the very finest flavors and aromas from a wide range of grape varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel, amongst many others. Shielded from the oceanic climate by mountain ranges, the Napa Valley provides plenty of sunshine, heat and little rainfall in which grapes can grow and ripen fully, and express plenty of their superb terroir, much to the delight of New World wine drinkers across the globe.