Wine and Food Adventures

With this entry I start a series about wines which are close to my heart for various reasons. Indeed writing about these wines was one of the driving forces when I created this blog. But in the end it cost me two and a half years before the first entry was published. However for the beginning I selected a real wine monument created by a man whose name is closely linked to the meteoric rise of the Napa Valley wines - Robert Gerald Mondavi.

Intermezzo: Writing makes you thirsty. So I decide to open a bottle 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from - of course - the Robert Mondavi Winery. But first decanting for 30 minutes...

To be honest my relationship to the Robert Mondavi Winery and its wines is ambivalent. During my regular visits of the North Coast AVA in the last ten years I stopped only once at the winery - and left in panic-like escape after only ten minutes. Visiting Disney World is less stressful than trying to taste one of the wines at the tasting rooms of this tourist trap. Also being part of Constellation Brands is quite two-edged to consider. A mass of cheap and ordinary wines sold due to the famous name hides the view on some wines with extraordinary quality. One of these wines is the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. And this wine is the main actor of this entry.

Intermezzo: Back to my 2006 Cab Reserve. Deep, bright cherry red. Aromas of very dark fruits. Incredibly extensive. A touch of kirschwasser paired with cinammon and black pepper. Animalistic, incredibly dense, cool.

But first some historic information. Robert Gerald Mondavi was the eldest son of Cesare Mondavi and his wife Rosa who had emigrated from Italy. In 1921 the family moved to California and established a grape business. In 1943 the family bought the Charles Krug Winery and shifted their center of life from Lodi to Napa. In the early 1960s Robert left the family business in dispute and in 1966 founded his own winery in Oakville. Besides this Robert Mondavi entered into several joint ventures the most known of which is certainly Opus One together with Baron Philippe de Rothschild.



The reference to Opus One is deliberately chosen. The first vintage of the Opus One Proprietary Red Wine was 1981. From this time until 2000 Tim Mondavi was in charge of winemaking as representative of the Mondavi Winery together with Lucien Sionneau (until 1984) and Patrick Léon. Of course also the current director of winemaking at the Robert Mondavi Winery - Genevieve Janssens - was a key factor for this joint venture. From 1991 to 1997 she worked together with Tim Mondavi and Patrick Léon at Opus One. So the name of Opus One is closely linked to the Robert Mondavi Winery; especially due to the fact that the wine was produced at this winery until 1991.

Even if the idea behind both wines is totally different - Opus One as a Bordeaux-style representative vs. the classical California Cab approach of the Reserve - all facts mentioned above allow comparison. Already with the invention of Opus One the wine was hyped whereas the Reserve was often criticized as overpriced. A little bit surprising if you have for instance a look on the prices of the current vintage. The 2012 Opus One is offered on the Opus One website for $ 345 which is significantly higher than the Reserve price: $ 155 on the Robert Mondavi Winery website. Of course the contempt of the Reserve has something to do with the "design criteria" of the Opus One as "cult wine": It was initially conceived as a selection of the Robert Mondavi Winery's best lots. Hm. Means for the Reserve worse ones were used... And if you check the available ratings of the Reserve in the early 80s seems to confirm this. But that's only half of the story. At this time the Opus One ratings were better, but not extremely so.



My special relationship to the Reserve Cab began approximately ten years ago. On Ebay I bought a bottle of the 1996. I didn't expect too much. So far nearly all wines from Robert Mondavi were a little bit ordinary at best. So one day in the middle of the week I opened the bottle during a relaxing TV evening with my beloved wife - and forgot the time. The wine was incredible. Fresh and ripe in parallel. Lots of fruit, but also a deep concentrating earthiness. A real special (wine) moment. From this day I bought a lot of different vintages. Outstanding ones like the 96, disappointing ones like the 97 and suprisingly good ones like the 2000.

Intermezzo: This reminds me that there is a nice glass of the 2006 Cab Reserve standing right on the computer's side. So let's take a sip. Fleshy with a medium-strong acid-aroma which gives the wine an extra-strong backbone. Still very, very young, but every part of the wine whispers: Drink me!!!

Coming back to work. These days I reflect this wine monument besides the 2006 with three different vintages: 1996, 2000 and 2008. All of them I tasted over one week whereas I used the Coravin to access the wines. And I can tell you: Life is good if you enjoy the privilege to drink such wines.

Thanks, Robert Gerald Mondavi!

1996 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (96/100)
Napa Valley, California
95 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 % Cabernet Franc, 2 % Merlot
13.5 % Alcohol

Clear, medium garnet to ruby red with some brick-red rims. Perfectly developed tertiary aromas. Spicy and earthy notes are clearly dominating. But the essence of this beauty is the pairing of these notes with some herbal attitudes (rosemary) and the fine and elegant mint aroma to be recognized below all this wooden appearance. Absolutely fascinating - and it is still this great wine I tasted first nearly ten years ago. By the way - the taste. Still fruity with some licorice in the middle. To the end a certain elegant accidity takes over and is floating and floating and floating. Totally different design compared to the 2000 and the 2008 which of course has also something to do with the alcohol. But: Who cares? The wine is at the moment absolutely perfect if you like wonderfully ripe California Cabs. But if you want you can still wait. Drinking this bottle I get the feeling that this outstanding wine will still remain on this level for another 10+ years.

2000 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (96/100)
Napa Valley, California
80 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 % Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec
14.5 % Alcohol

Deep, dark and impervious purple red. Typical cabernet nose which offers lots of dark fruits, a touch of bacon and a little bit licorice. Indeed the wine shows nearly no ripeness tones. Seems to be a youngster. Incredible. The last bottle I drunk three years ago was as mentioned before; very, very good. But it seems the wine transferred over this time. Side note: Winespectator rated this wine in 2011 with 87 points; in 2016 with 95 points! Now the first sip. Very, very fruity. Not too heavy as of course expected for this vintage, more fragile, sublime. But to the end the bacon notes offer a wonderful velvety which remains very, very long. An outstanding effort. Already on the top, but the wine is in such a perfect condition that you can wait without any problem another five years.

2008 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (98/100)
Napa Valley, California
85 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 8 % Cabernet Franc, 7 % Petit Verdot
15.5 % Alcohol

Deep, dark ink colour. A very intensive mix of blackberries, cassis, black tea and a little bit cinnamon. And lot of medium dark chocolate. On the palate cassis extreme. Very fruity. The finish is long, sweet and animalistic. The tannins are already perfectly integrated. A wonderful example for the deepness and concentration of Napa Valley Cabs from this vintage. Of course the wine is just at the beginning, but provides already a lot of enjoyment. No decanting necessary, but you can wait another ten years minimum.



Finale: And what about the 2006? Well. I can say the article is finalized, the bottle empty. Points? OK - 96/100. I love this work.