Wine of the Month February 2009
                             Robert Mondavi Winery
                 "Oakville" Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005
                                    Napa Valley, California
                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                               

The highest quality Napa Valley cabernt sauvignon wines have become ridiculously priced. over the last 5 to 10 years  I recognize that quality comes at a price in all industries, but many of the Napa Valley wine vinters have been price gouging, and the wine buying public has gladly paid the exorbitant prices.  Interestingly, it is not really the vinters who are to blame when you get right down to it.  They charge what the market will bear.  And for better or worse, the wide availability of wine scores on the internet coupled with the fact that fancy wines have become a status symbol have led the wine buying public to assume that if a wine costs over $100 per bottle, it must be outstanding.  In many instances, these high priced wines are outstanding.  In other cases, the wines are merely good or mediocre.  The fact that gets lost in all of this nonsensical hype is that many wineries consistently make truly outstanding wines for under $45 per bottle.  If you slip such wines into a blind testing next to $100 and $200 wines, no one will be able to taste the difference.  The Robert Mondavi Oakville cab is one such "dead ringer".  Retail pricing is about $45, but the quality, bouquet, and flavor profile is that of a $125-$150 wine.  Simple as that.  The only thing missing is the mystique of owning a rare and exotic label.

Robert Mondavi Winery is interesting.  Forty years ago, everything about Robert Mondavi and his winery was cutting edge.  Many wine writers rightly credit Mr. Mondavi for ratcheting up the quality of California wines and putting Napa Valley on par with the finest wine regions in France.  It was his belief that Napa Valley was the most priviledged wine growing region in California.  It was also his belief that within Napa Valley, some areas would turn out better wines than others.  He went on a mission to procure the finest wine growing sites in Napa, an he used these sites to make his namesake Caberent.  As time went on, he used his famous To-Kalon vineayrd (in Oakville) to make his extraordinary "reserve cabernet".  In the 70's and 80's, there was no caberent that could compete with the Mondavi Reserve.  Because Mr. Mondavi had "first pick" among the vineyard lands of Napa Valley, it is not suprising that he had ownership of the best pacels.  As time went on, Mondavi Winery expanded their offerings, and, according to many, quality started to suffer.  Mondavi tried to compete in the bargain wine segment, and purchased low priced grapes from mediocre vineyards to crank out these inexpensive wines.  By the 90's, the Mondavi brand had lost it's cachet.  Although their namesake Napa cab and their reserve cab were still topflight, the brand had lost it's glamour due to thier offerings of bargain wines, such as Mondavi Woodbridge.  Newcomers to the wine-drinking world associated the Mondavi brand with cheap wine, even though they still made supreme wines from their more priviledged sites.

This brings us to our current Wine of the Month.  Robert Mondavi Winery has, over the last 10 years tried to resurrect their former glory.  Yes, Robert Mondavi himself passed away about a year ago, and the winery has new ownership; but the gifted vineyards that Mondavi accumulated 40 years ago are still under Mondavi Winery ownership.  This allows them to produce, if they choose, some of the finest wines in all of Napa Valley.  Because they purchased the land for a fraction of what current entrants into the wine business must pay, they are able to price their premium wines for a fraction of the prices charged by so-called boutique and "cult" wineries.  The blend of the Robert Mondavi Oakville cabernet changes somewhat from year to year.  The majority of the grapes (80 % in 2005) come from the famed To-Kalon vineyard.  Compare this to most other cabs sourcing grapes from To-Kalon that routinely fetch $150-$250 per bottle!  The remaining 20% of grapes in this wine come from other fine Oakville vineyards.

The 2005 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon boasts a jammy blackberry and currant bouquet, with subltle vanilla-oaken notes.  The black fruits carry onto the palate, with a rich , full, and velvety mouthfeel.  Tannins are fine and well integrated.  The wine is perfectly drinkable now, but will probably get even better within just a few years.  Everthing is in perfect balance with this wine, so cellaring is strictly optional, not required with this wine.  The wine will pair well with food, but can stand alone as well.  All in all, an outstanding wine at a very reasonable price.

4.25 stars.  Retail $45.00.  Can be found at a discount at many retailers, and sometimes shows up at Costco.  The best current prices from on-line wine retailers are as follows:  $28 at Wine.com, $30 at Woodland Hills Wine Company, $34 at Amazing Grapes in Rancho Santa Margarita, $34 at the Wine House in Los Angeles, and $35-$37 at Wine Exchange (Orange County), K and L Wine Mrechants (Hollywood and SF Bay area), and The Wine Club (Santa Ana).


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