Château Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 1.5L
Château Montelena pale golden color in the glass, with the faintest hint of green belying its youth, this Chardonnay opens with rich and intense aromas of lemon, lime leaf, citrus flowers, and a touch of honey before moving into spicy pie crust and a hint of mascarpone creaminess - all topped with a nice flinty finish. The citrus trend continues on the palate with a firm acidity and tropical star fruit. This wine has excellent mouthfeel with big full texture and a mouthcoating creaminess that nicely complements the white stone fruit (nectarine and peach) and slight green apple fruit flavors. On the finish, look for a pleasantly subtle marzipan nuttiness.
Wine Advocate
The Chardonnay is quite a bit fresher and more linear and partly because of the length of the growing season, partly because it is a year younger. Slate, minerals, crushed rocks and grapefruit linger on the precise, crystalline finish. This is a very Chablis-like Napa Valley Chardonnay. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.
Score: 92. —Antonio Galloni, December 2011.