Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
This wine sources widely beloved Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the To Kalon Vineyard, located at the Robert Mondavi Winery headquarters in Oakville. The soils in Napa’s top real estate are diverse, containing more 20 types with a gravel base that provides excellent drainage and deep roots. This white is brilliantly crisp with a full produce department worth of fruit: pineapple, mango, peach, and sweet pink grapefruit. It finishes with a release of mineral kissed tropical fruit.
-
Wine Spectator
Complex, offering a mix of beeswax, honeysuckle and dried mango flavors up front, which give way to poached pear and apricot notes at the core, with spice, toast and almond butter edges mingling. Wonderful succulent acidity makes the finish just as powerful as the first aromatic sniff. Drink now.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This has 14% Sémillon. Together, the white grapes form a fleshy, floral core of bold full-bodied flavor and lemony oak, the structure impressively complex and lasting in texture.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.