Excellent ruby-red color. Less expressive, youthfully unevolved aromas of cassis, black cherry, tar and shoe polish, plus a varnish-like high tone. Strong in extract and quite dense but very tightly wrapped today. Slight suggestion of nutty herbaceousness. Finishes with substantial chewy tannins, but also very long on the palate. This showed more and more texture with extended aeration. A slightly more rustic wine than the '91, but one with a long and bright future.

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The 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate was reviewed in issue #95 from tastings done before its release. Tasted twice from purchased bottles, it is a backward, but splendidly concentrated, broad, expansively-flavored, full-bodied Cabernet with a high level of tannin. Its stunning display of highly extracted, blackcurrant fruit judiciously wrapped in toasty oak is impressive. It is a 20-30 year wine.

Every time I participate in a blind tasting of a specific vintage of California Cabernets, whether it be 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, etc., Chateau Montelena's wines consistently come out near or at the top. The style of their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon has remained an uncompromising blend of super-ripe fruit, power, concentration, and tannin. The only refinement has been that the type of tannin achieved in vintages in the nineties is softer, giving the wines earlier accessibility. That has been obtained without sacrificing any of the splendid richness and purity that are the hallmarks of Montelena's Cabernets.

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Tremendous complexity, depth and richness, with sharply focused layers of currant, anise, cedar, tobacco and spice, firming on the finish, where the tannins are soft enough for the wine to be enjoyed now.--California Cabernet retrospective. 9,500 cases made.

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Still tannic and austere - I don't know if this wine will ever open up more than it already has (not). It's drinking much like a young St. Estephe at this point. I'm surprised the tannins have not submerged even a little after being 16+ years in the bottle. Still, it's remarkably fresh for its age and has an impressive bouquet. When we decanted it, a perfume of berries and oak literally filled the room and persisted to the last drop, but the mid-palate did not live up to the bouquet's promise.