Winemaker Notes
Intensity, muscle and concentration define our Reserve vineyard-designated wine from Napa Valley's grand cru site To Kalon. A complex blend of fresh blackberry, wild berry compote, cassis, dark cocoa powder, forest floor, all-spice, and sweet vanilla, with balancing acidity, make this a perfect Anniversary wine.
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petite Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of black currants, violets, lavender, and stone follow through a full body, chewy tannins and toned muscular structure. This is a Mondavi reserve that harkens back to the great years of the 1970s. A tribute to the 50th anniversary of the winery. Try in 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A beautifully polished wine, with a dense ruby/purple color, it is still tightly knit and showing high-quality oak. The wine is full-bodied and rich, with outstanding depth, ripeness and purity. There is plenty of backbone and tannin for 25-30 years of cellaring. The wine shows notes of chocolate and plenty of blackcurrant fruit and blackberry. This is a beauty and certainly a great reserve and worthy homage to the legendary Robert MondaviRating: 95+ Points.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Always one of the most important wines to taste each year, the 2013 Robert Mondavi Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon makes its way to the top as one of the elites from a decidedly outstanding vintage. The wine, a bit tight at the moment, has all of the makings of becoming one of the winery's best to date. The wine's flavors—a mix of black currants, sweet oak, and savory spices—and firm structure make the wine an excellent candidate for the cellar. (Tasted: October 24, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.