2011 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 3.0L

Nature never fails to tuck a few rough diamonds into each vintage in the Napa Valley, especially here on our Estate. However, it can be easy to overlook the cool, foggy years that are sporadically peppered among the consistent march of temperate growing seasons we’re fortunate enough to experience in Calistoga. These years reward experience, expertise, and patience in recognizing these hidden diamonds for what they are and what they can become. Although they are rarely darlings of the press, cool vintages such as 1998—and more recently 2006—have a way of surprising people in the way the wines develop as they mature, both in their complexity and depth of flavor. In the right hands, fruit from these vintages can turn into gorgeous, long-lived, and wonderfully expressive wines—emblematic of the fact that every year brings something special.

-Winemaker Matt Crafton