1997 | Robert Mondavi Winery | Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Superb, showing a wonderful sense of harmony. Complex and creamy, with telltale currant, anise and mocha scents. Excellent length.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: As for the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, this wine seems more subdued than it did last year and might be going through a relatively closed stage. As it sat in the glass, it took on an almost Ducru-Beaucaillou or Leoville-Las Cases St.-Julien-like character, with notes of minerals, cedar wood, black currants, tobacco, and spice. This is a rich, dark ruby/purple-colored wine with very complex aromatics, medium to full body, tight structure and plenty of tannin in the finish.

• Vinous: Dark red-ruby. Very expressive, ripe, slightly inky aromas of blueberry, camphor and licorice, plus a hint of sweet butter; distinctly warm but not roasted. Wonderfully concentrated and deep if a bit unrefined; a real fleshpot of fruit but this still needs time to burn off some of its baby fat and reveal its dark berries and minerals underneath. Finishes chewy, deep and very long, with big, slightly tough tannins. Will additional bottle aging bring more elegance? Give this a long spell in a decanter if you plan to uncork a bottle anytime soon.

Producer Information

Robert Mondavi Winery is one of the most prominent wine producers in Napa Valley. Founded in 1966 by Robert Mondavi himself, the company is widely credited with kickstarting the modern era of California's wine industry. Robert Mondavi Winery makes a range of wines, from the value-driven Woodbridge and Private Selection labels to collectable, age-worthy wines from Napa Valley's famed To Kalon vineyard. Mondavi founded the winery after a less-than-amicable split from his family's business, Charles Krug. His stated aim was to swap quantity for quality, believing that good wine could be made in the valley. To Kalon, originally planted in 1868, became the epicentre of his estate, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc (often labeled Fumé Blanc in California) providing the backbone of the Mondavi range. Over the years, Mondavi has employed some of Napa's most famous winemakers, including Mike Grgich (of Chateau Montelena), Warren Winiarski (of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars) and Zelma Long (of Simi Winery). Today the winery makes wines from a host of grape varieties, including Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Moscato. The range spans vineyards throughout Napa, including sites in Carneros and Stags Leap. Mondavi's Private Selection wines fall under the sizeable Central Coast appellation, and Woodbridge wines are labelled under the generic California appellation, although many of the vineyards are located in Lodi. One of Mondavi's most high-profile contributions to Californian winemaking came via a collaboration with Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild. Opus One, the resulting wine, first appeared in 1980, and has gone on to become one of California's more iconic Cabernet Sauvignon wines, netting both high praise and high prices. Although Opus One is now a separate entity to Robert Mondavi Winery, it still bears Mondavi's silhouette on the bottle. The Robert Mondavi brand was sold to beverage giant Constellation Brands in 2004, and Mondavi went on to found Continuum Estate with his son Tim and daughter Marcia. Mondavi passed away in 2008 at the age of 94.

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