Tag Archives: Robert Mondavi

Mini-reviews 92: 2016 closeout edition

2016 closeout editionReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month. This month, the 2016 closeout edition.

• Kenwood Jack London Zinfandel 2014 ($25, sample, 14.5%): OK California zinfandel that isn’t what it once was, when it ranked with Ridge for quality. But it fits the parameters for what zinfandel is supposed to taste like today. Lots of sweet black fruit, though a bit of spice and earth on the back.

• Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 ($25, sample, 13.5%): Not very interesting Italian red wine without much fruit but with a lot – and I mean a lot – of acidity. It was so out of whack I wondered it was flawed in some way.

• Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2007 ($45, sample, 15.5%): No, not a typo, but a California red that I got as a sample when the blog started and has been sitting the wine fridge since then. It’s made to taste exactly the way it tastes to wow the Winestream Media. In other words, rich, elegant, not quite sweet grape juice with some oak. If you like that style, you’ll love this wine.

• Bodegas Salentein Killka Malbec 2014 ($13, sample, 14%): Competent premiumized Argentine red wine, with less fruit than most. But in the end, it’s still sweetish and not very interesting – another in a long line of malbecs made to taste a certain way and do that one thing very well.

Mini-reviews 32: Beaujolais nouveau, Mondavi, Martin Codax, Kung Fu Girl

Reviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month:

? Georges Dub uf Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 ($8, purchased): Grape juice, and not especially good grape juice. No varietal character; perhaps the most poorly made nouvueau in decades.

? Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($135, sample): Aged well enough — 15 percent alcohol isn’t noticeable, lots of dark fruit left, and acid still shows — but anyone who paid three figures for this five years ago is probably very disappointed.

? Mart n C dax Albari o 2011 ($15, sample): Spanish white is always consistent and varietally correct, though there are $10 albarinos that deliver similar clean, soft citrus results,

? Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2010 ($10, purchased): Look for lemon-lime fruit and even some oiliness, but always tastes too sweet to me (which is odd for a Charles Smith wine).

Expensive wine 28: Robert Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay 2007

Robert Mondavi sold his self-named company to Constellation Brands in 2004, which means that at least a generation of wine drinkers knows Mondavi only as a name on a bottle of wine they see at the grocery store. Such are the vagaries of family businesses.

If they had known the pre-Constellation Mondavi, or even the pre-publicly traded Mondavi, though, the chardonnay ($40, sample) is the kind of wine they would have associated with the winery. Mondavi made his name not only by marketing Napa Valley (and, by extension, the rest of California), but by making some terrific wine. Talk to the old-timers, and they still wax poetic about the 1979 reserve cabernet, and many remember when Mondavi was about wine and not corporate wheeling and dealing.

Enjoy this wine and imagine what could have been. The chardonnay, frankly, stunned the Wine Curmudgeon with its style and complexity. I was expecting a heavy-handed, post-modern approach — too rich, too overdone and too much of everything else. Instead, I found — dare I say — classicism. This is a wine in balance, with acid to offset the wonderful green apple fruit and enough oak to show it's there but not to overwhelm the wine. Drink this on its own with someone you care about or for a special occasion dinner. Highly recommended.

Mother’s Day wine 2011

Want to buy Mom wine for Mother's Day? Or serve something she'll enjoy for brunch? The Wine Curmudgeon is ready, willing, and able. Keep in mind our wine gift-giving guidelines ("Don't buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like"), as well as these suggestions:

? Naked Grape Pinot Grigio 2009 ($8, sample): Pleasant pinot grigio, which isn't easy to do for less than $10. This California white has more lemon fruit than Italian versions, and is missing the off-flavors that frequently crop up.

? Robert Mondavi Private Selection Meritage 2009 ($11, sample): All in all, a well made $11 red blend. It has California-style black fruit, but not overdone, plus better balanced tannins than one usually finds at this price. There is even oak for people who like that sort of thing.

? La Crema Monterey Chardonnay 2009 ($20, sample): Some oak on the nose, but it's balanced by lots of green apple fruit and clean, lively acidity. Think of a California version of Chablis.

More about Mother's Day wine:
? Mother's Day wine 2010
? Mother's Day wine 2009
? Wine of the week: Casteller Brut Rose NV