On Oct 13, 9:22*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Oct 12, 9:31*pm, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
>
> > On Oct 12, 9:00*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
>
> > > We grilled lamb chops last night so I opened a bottle of 2002 Chateau
> > > Montelena that I found in my orphan bin. *I stopped buying Montelena
> > > when the winery was alledgedly hit with TCA issues. *The cost and risk
> > > just didn't work for me. *I suspect the bottle was a gift from a
> > > dinner guest. *The wine was still quite dark and dense in the glass..
> > > Effusive nose of cassis, black plum and Napa dusty notes. *Still quite
> > > youthful on the palate with very ripe blackberry, cassis and plum a
> > > fair amount of anise a slight smokey note and plush smooth tannins.
> > > There is a nice balance to this wine and like most Montelena wines I
> > > suspect it can last up to 25 years. *Quite nice 'A-"
>
> > Never had problems with Montelena and still buy it.
>
> Maybe you remember but back in 2001 there were significant reports of
> TCA contamination at Montelena. *Jim Laube of WS gave them incredibly
> low marks in the 2001 vintage claiming TCA taint. *There was a lot of
> back and forth and Laube wrote a column defending his position.
> Subsequently Montelena started an ad campaign and direct mail program
> to counter the claims. *Eventually they brought in an outside company
> to decontaminate their cellars to put the critism to rest. *You can
> get the particulars if you google "montelena TCA"

I still have 2001 Chateau Montelena and have not had TCA problems to
date.