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1986 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon

Light capsule condition issue; lightly depressed cork; top shoulder fill

Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar; Obtained by inheritance

Light capsule condition issue; lightly depressed cork; top shoulder fill; light label condition issue

Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar; Obtained by inheritance

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

96Robert M. Parker Jr.

This great wine exhibits a black/purple color, a fabulous, sweet, pure, cassis-scented nose, massive body and richness, and total harmony among its components - fruit, wood, alcohol, acidity, and tannin....A bodacious Cabernet!

92Wine Spectator

Big and robust, with lots of rich fruit and substantial tannins. A real mouthful.--Chateau Montelena vertical.

91Stephen Tanzer

Very expressive, Graves-like aromas of roasted plums, hot bricks and tobacco. Sweet, expansive and pliant in the mouth, with a flavor of chestnut. Soft and accessible. Finishes with even, fine tannins and a note of syrupy red fruit.

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

TYPE

Red Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.