Chateau Montelena Zinfandel
2009 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel
Here is a delicious, full and rich Zinfandel with terrific subtly and flavor. It’s velvety and attractive and if you 
can’t tell, we really like the Chateau Montelena Zinfandel. It has everything we look for in a Zinfandel without any overbearing dried fruit or weight. It certainly still has dried fruit flavors and some weight, but it doesn’t get carried away with those flavors, rather it focuses on elegance and balance. There is a reason Montelena manages to their Zin so right, they’ve been making Zinfandel for over 40 years!
The Chateau Montelena Zinfandel has a nice garnet color. The nose has nice fruit like raspberry and plum along with a little bit of cedar. There is also a touch of earth and floral elements on the nose. These carry through the wine as it opens. There are more dark berries on the palate, along with dried fruit, black pepper and spice. The finish brings some of the herbal elements back while continuing the dark berry elements. There is also enticing and subtle cocoa and leather flavors lurking just as you finish taking a sip and through the finish. Well-integrated tannins help to keep things balanced and while the wine is 14.5% alcohol it isn’t too hot. We have to admit though, the wine takes a little time to open. We first tasted the wine right after opening the bottle and there is no doubt that over the next hour the wine opened to reveal a great deal more complexity.
The Montelena Zinfandel is great for sipping on its own, but also does very well with food. Dishes with grilled meat, or stews, or even cheese heavy dishes like lasagna – in fact, it would probably even do well with pizza. There is no doubt that this is a wine that makes you want to keep coming back for another sip. While most people think of Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon (which we also carry) when they hear the name Montelena, the Zinfandel is just as good and shouldn’t be missed!
