GreenSpot Chateau Montelena!

[John]

Hi All,

Quick note to advise that the newly released Green Spot Chateau Montelena is now available at Mitchel & Son! Just tried it earlier and it's an excellent release. Beautiful colour, flavour and fantastic fruit notes on the nose. Not by any standard a huge release so I would move reasonably quickly to get some as I have a feeling it will go fairly quickly to be honest.

Cheers,
J.

[Rick M.]

How does it compare to the Leoville Barton release, John?

[John]

Sorry Rick, just seeing your reply/question now!

Same philosophy behind maturation and finishing; same strength at 46%; which to be fair means it's much easier to compare the contribution of the two different wine casks, Bordeaux vs. Zinfandel. This is a fantastic comparison also because of the success that the American winery had in the famous blind wine tasting back in the 70's!

For me, the colour is fantastic, reminds me of the Bushmills 16, but more brilliant. The nose is incredibly fruity, the official tasting notes mention Pomegranate but I'll have to confess that my palate couldn't pick up on that. Cherries yes and some citrus even but that was it.

On the palate, the typical potstill characteristics are there, wonderful chewy mouthfeel, great finish.

I think I prefer it to the Leoville Barton, but that's a tough choice and to do them justice I would really have to taste them side by side.

The bottom line I guesss is that I think it's a really good release and a true hallmark of both the production systems at IDL and the whiskey heritage and wine supplier relationship management at Mitchel's.

Jmho of course.

[Rick M.]

Sorry Rick, just seeing your reply/question now!

Same philosophy behind maturation and finishing; same strength at 46%; which to be fair means it's much easier to compare the contribution of the two different wine casks, Bordeaux vs. Zinfandel. This is a fantastic comparison also because of the success that the American winery had in the famous blind wine tasting back in the 70's!

For me, the colour is fantastic, reminds me of the Bushmills 16, but more brilliant. The nose is incredibly fruity, the official tasting notes mention Pomegranate but I'll have to confess that my palate couldn't pick up on that. Cherries yes and some citrus even but that was it.

On the palate, the typical potstill characteristics are there, wonderful chewy mouthfeel, great finish.

I think I prefer it to the Leoville Barton, but that's a tough choice and to do them justice I would really have to taste them side by side.


Thanks for your assessment, John. Hopefully I can find a bottle in Canada. I’ve enjoyed Chateau Montelena cabernet sauvignon over the years and have great respect for the winery.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, John. Hopefully I can find a bottle in Canada.

The bottom line I guesss is that I think it's a really good release and a true hallmark of both the production systems at IDL and the whiskey heritage and wine supplier relationship management at Mitchel's.

Jmho of course.

[Rick M.]

Thanks for your assessment, John. I’m going to try to track down a bottle in Canada.