Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

To preserve its lively fruit and natural acidity, the Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested in the cool early morning hours and brought immediately to the winery. The grapes are carefully destemmed, gently crushed, and the musts with the grape skins are fermented partly in stainless steel tanks, partly in oak barrels. During their 44-day maceration period, the wines can extract a maximum of powerful varietal aromas and particularly soft tannins from the berry skins. Then they are racked, placed in barrels, and undergo malolactic fermentation to unfold even more harmonious fullness and depth before they finally reach perfection during their 16-month maturation in French oak barriques (15% new). In the glass, it shows a deep garnet red with purple highlights. On the nose, it unfolds an intense bouquet of violets and sweet black currants with fine notes of bay leaf, lavender, graphite, and a spicy hint of oak. It tastes juicy, opulent, and powerful of dark fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, black currants, and plums. Added to this is an earthy spice with notes of herbs, licorice, and clear minerality, which merge on the palate into impressive fullness and depth, multi-layered and at the same time magnificently concentrated, with rich, sweetly ripe, yet firmly structured tannins, supple in the finish, elegant and endlessly long.

Wine Spectator 90 points
James Suckling: 92 points for the 2019 vintage