There are names throughout history that will live forever, most great, some evil. The wine industry's names that will never be forgotten include Dom Perignon, Louis Pasteur, Agoston Haraszthy, Gustave Niebaum and the latest addition to the list of greats, Robert Mondavi.
Mondavi singlehandedly dragged the California wine industry into the modern era. Not only was he a great winemaker and astute businessman, but he also set the style for California wines for years to come. With his passing in 2008, the wine industry lost an icon of monumental stature.
The winery that he established is now in the very capable hands of his children, who are carrying on his philosophy and traditions. All of the Robert Mondavi Winery selections, from their least expensive to the award winning Opus One, offer the finest quality for their selling price. The latest vintage of the Robert Mondavi Napa Valley wines prove, without any doubt, the traditions set up by their founder are continuing today and, if possible, improving with age.
Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($28)The 2011 season started poorly but ended well. The vine flowering was delayed by cold weather, which continued through most of the growing season and resulted in smaller grapes with a higher concentration of flavors imparted into the wine.
The Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied wine with a deep ruby color that displays the aromas and flavors of blackberry, red and black currant and, most prominently, plum. There also are the flavors of mocha, cedar, oak and vanilla lying in the background, adding extra layers of complexity. It all leads to an extraordinarily long finish that can only be described as pure Mondavi - superb and memorable.
The best word we can use to describe this wine is elegant. This wine can be enjoyed now or can be given a few years of bottle aging to develop even more character; the wait will be well worth it.
Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($19)If you are looking for a touchstone chardonnay, a wine to compare all other chardonnay wines by, this one is it.
The cool growing season has endowed this chardonnay with bold and obvious fruit flavors and aromas. The most noticeable aroma is that of Fuji apples, which is intermingled with bosc pear and vanilla. The mineral element that is imparted to grapes grown in the Napa Valley becomes very obvious with the first sip and helps to amplify and enhance the flavor of the wine, which stresses the fruits found in the aroma, as well as melon and hazelnut. The flavor ends in soft summer fruits and a superb creamy mouth feel.
The Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Chardonnay is well balanced, easy to drink and is the perfect wine to serve alongside pastas with white sauce, baked or steamed fish and salads, or as an aperitif.
Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Pinot Noir ($26)It is our opinion that the Robert Mondavi pinot noir wines are at the apex of all pinot noirs produced in this country in each of the respective price categories.
The Robert Mondavi 2011 Napa Valley Pinot Noir draws the grapes for this wine from the Carneros district of the Napa Valley, an area which is widely acknowledged as producing the finest pinot noir grapes in the world and that includes the grapes from their ancestral home of Burgundy.
The aroma is resplendent with ripe plums and summer red berries, along with a background of caramel and oak. There is also a haunting mineral flavor that marks this wine as both coming from the Carneros district and made by Mondavi.
We would like to add that while this wine is very drinkable right now, putting a bottle or two away for a few years will yield a wine that will be unforgettable.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.
