Chateau Montelena Calistoga 2008 Zinfandel, $22.94-$26.99, 86 points, is to me one of the most monumental let-downs of the year; an iconic Winery (for NH wine lovers, a very difficult wine to find) has bottled a mediocre Zinfandel that should be in the $10.00 range. I know I'm going to be blasted for this, but with Zinfandel wines like the Cakebread and the Neal Zinfandels available and with a similar character profile, I'll shy away from this one (I bought more than one bottle), and my expectations on the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay which I bought also, has dropped considerably, but the proof is in the pudding, and like people, you can't judge one because of another.
Enough with my feelings and to the review.
The color is more cranberry, and the nose is a bit of cotton candy. A light to medium bodied wine, with almost nothing early palate, but gentle Red-berries mid to late palate, and the finish is an almost indiscernible sassafras, as is the alcohol indiscernible and well balanced.
This is not a terrible Zinfandel, only not in league with the others mentioned.
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Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger
Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger
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