Green Spot Château Montelena is a new limited edition of the Irish Green Spot brand (pot still whiskey crafted at Midleton distillery, also see Yellow Spot). It has been matured in bourbon and sherry casks and finished for 12 months in French oak casks previously filled with Zinfandel wine from Chateau Montelena located in Nappa Valley.
It is the second release in the Wine Geese series, following the Château Léoville Barton finish in 2015. When Chateau Montelena was introduced in October 2017, it had been postponed a little because of the devastating fires in California. So far very little has been written about this one.
Green Spot – Chateau Montelena
(46%, OB 2017)
Green Spot – Chateau MontelenaNose: a lot of vanilla and marzipan sweetness. Buttery pears, gooseberry pie. Cupcakes with lemon icing. White chocolate. Red apples. Also a few floral (potpourri) overtones. Very gentle spices in the background.
Mouth: slightly drier now, with some peppery notes and toasted oak mingling with the berry sweetness. Still some almond paste and a slight tang from the wine.
Finish: not too long, bittersweet with ‘pot still spices’ as well as some light tannins.
A fairly rich dram, with a very nice nose for those with a sweet tooth. On the palate it shows limited complexity and it’s more clearly showing the winey notes. Around € 70, so far only available in Ireland, the US and Canada.
Score: 81/100