New Wines From Robert Mondavi

There are many memorable people who have walked across the pages of history that have left an indelible mark. As long as man exists these people will never be forgotten. Aristotle, Socrates Julius Caesar, Galileo, Einstein, Napoleon, Henry Ford and so many many more. The wine industry has it’s memorable names too. People who have changed the making of wine dramatically among whom were, Dom Perignon, Louis Pasture, Barron De Rothschild and in our time, Robert Mondavi, and it is his legacy that we will be looking at.

Robert Mondavi started in the wine business as a member of the family that bought the Charles Krug Winery. While learning about wine, Robert traveled abroad and studied the way wine was made in Europe. Returning to the United States, he tried to implement some of the techniques that he had learned overseas to the wines that his family made here. Robert believed that the grapes grown here were as good as or even better than those grown overseas. The family was a bit recalcitrant about adopting his untried suggestions so Robert left Krug. He subsequently went off on his own and founded the Robert Mondavi Winery where he developed and refined the techniques that would eventually raise American wines from the mediocre to the world class products that they are today. To make a very long story short, Robert Mondavi cast a new face on American winemaking which today is known as the California style.

Robert Mondavi is no longer with us, but it is safe to say that his impact on the wine industry is equally as momentous as were the contributions of Sir Isaac Newton to physics. The winery is still in operation and still producing some of the most outstanding wines coming out of California.

Robert Mondavi 2010 Napa Valley Carneros Pinot Noir Reserve ($27). The conditions in the Carneros district of the Napa Valley proved to be the perfect spot to grow the cooler climate loving Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. This is the location personally selected by Robert Mondavi because it closely resembles the climate and soil of the Burgundy region of France where those grapes thrive. As one might expect this wine presents a dark ruby color which heralds a very impressive aroma stressing blackberry, nutmeg, raspberry and black fruit interwoven with espresso, oak and the very rare cedar. These augment the rich and velvet-like, polished flavor and then continues on to the finish. This is not a wine to be lightly passed off; it is a magnificent expression of the Pinot Noir grape and the wine making legacy of Robert Mondavi. Just as a side note, this is definitely a wine to set aside for three to five years. While it is very enjoyable right now, it will improve dramatically with a few years behind it.

Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay ($20). The grapes for this wine were chosen from selected vineyards in the Napa Valley with the lions share coming from the cooler Carneros distract. Cooler region grown Chardonnay grapes result in an elevated acid content and a delightful herbaceous quality. The warmer vineyard grapes, and they really are not that much warmer, adds tropical fruit flavors while also softening the acid. The Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay is a wine that exhibits all of the characteristics of a classically styled wine while also presenting more than enough of the fresh fruit flavors to mark it as a true Californian. The wine seems to explode with the flavors and aromas of green apples and pears with a suggestion of citrus in the background. There is also a very pleasant under flavor of oak, which when combined with a near perfect acid level results in a wine of classical dimensions. The finish exhibits the much sought after buttery feel in the mouth, the sign of a better chardonnay. Contrary to the case with most white wines, this wine will gain greater depth with just a bit of bottle aging.