WTN: 1989 Montelena Chardonnay

• 1989 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/28/2010)
  Bought from WineBid for a song. Medium yellow, nose announced this was Chard. Still plenty of fruit, with tropical notes, no hint of oxidization. Good acidity that made this refreshing. Great surprise that it was still this good after 21 years. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com

[Jenise]

Good catch! We had a '74 in what must have been '95, for I remember both its vintage and the fact that it was a 21 year old bottle. A case had been purchased by a friends' dad and stored passively in their basement all those years. Best Cal Chard I've ever had, and I don't expect to top it.

Bought from WineBid for a song.

What song?

Sounds like a good one

And a great purchase.

Montelena chards in those days did not go through ML. They have usually aged better than most. I'm not sure of the latest vintages.

Not sure about very latest, but I think in late 90s and early 00s I've heard that depending on vintage they might let 10-15% go through malo. But still amazingly crisp for CA. Never had one this old, but have drunk quite a few at 8-13 with pleasure.