On Oct 17, 8:13*am, Dick N > wrote:
> On Oct 13, 11:22*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
>
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>
>
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> > 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"
>
> Bill, I've been buying the Montelena Estate Cab for years. *NO issues
> EVER including the 2001.
>
> Don't get me started on Laube of WS as In my opinion he is an
> egomaniac. *That same article he said he trained his pallatte to
> detect cork taint to less than 1 part per million....it's simply NOT
> detectable at those levels.
>
> I heard a rumor years back that may NOT be true. *The rumor was passed
> to me from a winemaker who knew JL wife. *Supposedly he was playing
> base coach and got hit in the head with a baseball. *Result, he could
> NOT taste anymore. *That he lost sense of taste, smell etc. *Then,
> this article came out on his training his pallatte. *Imalways wondered
> if there was any truth to the rumor after I saw him overcompensating.
> Well, you never can trust a rumor...I bought the 2001 anyway...it was
> nice.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

To be honest..I didn't know anything about the TCA issue until I saw a
mailer from Bo Barrett about the controversy that he sent out to
retailers, etc. Then they followed it up a year or so later with a
complete cleaning of the cellars. I always loved the wine but I
became leery of buying case lots that I was going to cellar if they
had a TCA taint problem.. I've had planty of Montelena since then
without significant problems...I did open a 1997 Montelena this
weekend that was....CORKED!!!!