Chateau Montelena 1973

Calistoga, Napa Valley, California, USA

a legend because…

This was the wine that dethroned some of the most prestigious white Burgundies at the legendary Judgement of Paris tasting organised by Steven Spurrier in 1976. It came top out of the 10 French and Californian Chardonnays poured blind at the event. Moreover, no fewer than six of the nine French judges awarded Montelena their highest score. After the scores were totted up, it became clear it had won by a sizeable margin. Even more galling, it was a wine that had been made from young vines, confounding the French conviction that vines need to be mature to deliver top-class wine.

Looking back

Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich was a Croatian who in 1958 emigrated to California. There he worked with many of the existing wineries from the late 1960s, including Souverain, Christian Brothers, Beaulieu and Mondavi. In 1972 he was offered a job at Chateau Montelena, founded in 1882, but owned since 1969 by lawyer Jim Barrett and his partners. Grgich’s wines met with an enthusiastic reception and he remained at Montelena until 1975, when he left after some acrimonious disputes to found his own winery.

The vintage

Winter was cool and damp, but the growing season in Napa and Sonoma, which was relatively cool, left the Chardonnay vines free from mildew and other diseases. August was very hot and the grapes ripened rapidly, yet preserved enough natural acidity so that Grgich did not have to add tartaric acid to the must.

The terroir

Although Montelena owned extensive vineyards, they were being partly replanted to supply the winery with better quality fruit. So the Chardonnay in 1973 was sourced from independent growers. Montelena in 2014 stated that 39% of the grapes came from the Belle Terre Vineyard in Alexander Valley; 35% from Bacigalupi Vineyard in Russian River Valley; 23% from the Hanna Vineyard in Oak Knoll near Napa and just 3% from Calistoga. So the wine was a blend, without any clear terroir character. However, Grgich himself monitored the growing patterns in each site, and decided on the harvesting dates.

The wine

As they arrived at the winery, the grapes were crushed and destemmed before being pressed in a modern bladder press. The juice was clarified in steel tanks and racked after four days. Grgich inoculated the must with yeasts and fermentation began. He opted to ferment at low temperatures, so the extraction was prolonged to six weeks. He blocked the malolactic fermentation, and then stabilised and filtered the new wine. It was tranferred to second-fill Limousin barriques and left to age for eight months. In December 1974 Grgich made the final blend and filtered the final wine. It was released in September 1975.

The reaction

Unfortunately the written comments of the judges in 1976 have not been preserved – with one exception. Christian Vannequé, head sommelier at the Tour d’Argent in Paris, noted: ‘A very agreeable wine, which will blossom pleasantly and has a good equilibrium. To be followed.’ The owner of the celebrated restaurant would later rebuke Vannequé for having participated. Michael Broadbent tasted the wine in 1980, writing: ‘It is certainly my idea of a fine California Chardonnay… broad, slightly sweet, fully developed … positive but not excessive; dryish, more body than a Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet, but not heavy. Fine, rich, a touch of meatiness. Very good acidity. Perfect.’

‘No fewer than six of the nine French judges awarded it their top score’