This wine starts with a deep red colour and then leads into a huge bouquet of cassis, blackberry, raspberry, mocha, coffee and vanilla. The palate is nicely concentrated with a replay of the fruit found on the nose as well as hints of mint and spice. The finish is long, with the plummy tannins giving enough structure to age a decade.
A lot going on here on the nose: blackberry, dark plums, cassis, tobacco leaf, cocoa powder, wild berries and sweet oak spices. The flavours are expressive and compact on the palate with a baker’s rack of spice harmoniously woven in. It’s all backed up by chewy tannins and fairly decent acidity through a long finish.
This blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Cabernet Franc delivers loads of dark fruit: plum, blackberry and cherry. These combine with liquorice, violets, mocha and scorched earth. It is full-bodied, with excellent length and enough tannins to take it to 2025.
Mondavi’s flagship wine and considered by some to be one of Napa Valley’s “First Growths.” This contains just over 90% fruit from To Kalon with a bit of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot added to the blend. It is a grand wine with notes of blackberry, dark plums, kirsch, cedar smoke, thick cassis, blackcurrants, black olives, graphite, bay leaves and a smidge of wild herbs, spice and loam. This is a big wine that’s driven by rich, thick fruits on the palate that are complex and balanced by equally profound spice notes, polished tannins and a vibrant core of acidity. I would buy and hold for a few years, or serve now with a big juicy ribeye steak.
The ’09 still requires a year or two to fully blossom and smooth out the tannins. That being said, cassis, black cherry, blackberry¸ smoke, tobacco, vanilla, spice and mocha are all in play. Drink from 2015 until 2027.
This beauty shows rich aromas of cassis, blackberry, cherry-kirsch, loam and spices to go with wild herbs and cedar notes. It is simply gorgeous on the palate with soft, supple fruit that is ripe, concentrated and silky in the mouth. This is heady stuff, luxurious and complex yet not at all chunky with a gentle vibrancy through the long, lingering finish.
The ’10 Cab Sauv boasts an impressive black/purple colour and a fabulous nose of plum, blackberry, boysenberry, toast, mint, spice and graphite. Full-bodied, there is a great mid-palate and superb length. My suggestion would to be hold on for a couple of years, then drink until 2030.