During a recent visit to New York, Chateau Montelena Winemaker Matt Crafton visited Sam Benrubi’s The Grape Nation and joined him on the podcast, “Episode 110 Matt Crafton, Winemaker, Chateau Montelena.” Throughout the interview, Matt highlights his passion for “creating things that make people happy,” the history of the estate, the iconic Judgment of Paris, the winery’s new spring releases and the evolution of Chateau Montelena under his leadership. It is terrific to listen to and gives you a personal take on what it’s like to be a winemaker at an iconic estate – and why he inevitably decided to pursue wine. Full episode is HERE
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Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is Chateau Montelena’s flagship wine and a quality icon of Napa Valley. The winemaking team works obsessively and passionately with each vintage to capture the best expression of their historic terroir. This is a show-stopper that reveals the perfect blend of flavors, aromas and textures to reach the pinnacle of balance.
Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California
The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium-bodied wine offering notable raciness up front, compelling freshness and depth of flavor. The earthy, complex and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon is softened by the judicious addition of Merlot. This is a wine that delivers immediate pleasure upon release.
Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016
Napa Valley, California
A true icon. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley at the forefront of the wine world in 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris.” To great disbelief, the Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays. And as they say, the rest is history.
Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena Zinfandel 2015
Napa Valley, California
Produced from grapes grown on the Montelena Estate vineyard, the Zinfandel is a classically-structured, subtle and refined wine. Planted in volcanic soil, combined with 10-year-old vines in alluvial soil, this is a stunning wine known for its spicy, ripe berry flavor.
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Chateau Montelena
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine establishment gathered in Paris for a blind tasting of French and American wines. When the scores were tallied, the top-ranking white wine was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay. Montelena today continues to be a quality benchmark in Napa Valley, producing some of the finest Cabernet and Chardonnay in California.
