The virtually dry, kabinett-styled 2007 Johannisberg Riesling from the Potter Valley is as fresh as a mountain spring. Crisp orange zest and white citrus are presented in a wine that is as naked as the day all of us are born. Dry, fresh, and lively, this sleeper selection can be enjoyed over the next 1-2 years. Montelena has historically made one of California’s crisper, more Chablis-like Chardonnays. There is never any malolactic, the new wood is kept below 20%, and a decade ago they increased the aromatics by moving to a whole cluster press of the grapes. The good news is there are 10,000 cases. Chateau Montelena’s sale to the owners of Bordeaux’s well-known second-growth, Chateau Cos d’Estournel, fell through, no doubt because of the global economic crisis. It was unquestionably shocking that this Napa icon was on the block, and about to be sold to, of all people, the French, who Montelena had defeated in the famous Steven Spurrier tasting of 1976. Tasting through the wines with the ever reliable Bo Barrett is always a lesson in candor and honesty. Montelena’s negociant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, from northern vineyards in the Calistoga area, is meant to represent a Montelena house style, but it is much softer and less ageworthy, thus is the ideal restaurant/steakhouse wine.Tel. (707) 942-5105; Fax (707) 942-4221