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Robert Mondavi Winery

Following the sale of this winery to Constellation Brands, Tim Mondavi is now serving as viticultural consultant, with Genevieve Janssens in charge of winemaking.Janssens elected to limit our tasting this year to the two varieties Mondavi has always done best:sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon.I then convinced her to pour her current chardonnays too.Janssens noted that the past few Septembers have witnessed heat spikes accompanied by almost freakishly low humidity, which has caused significant dehydration to the vines, especially the merlot.There will be no separate To Kalon Vineyard bottlings in 2002 or 2003, but not because of any quality problems with this fruit.On the contrary, significant problems with dehydration in many of the lots that usually go into Mondavi's reserve bottling required the winery to use the To Kalon fruit to maintain the quality of the estate's flagship blend.Janssens describes the 2002 cabernets as very strong wines with structure and power.She says the 2003 cabernet was "whimsical" and she says she was afraid of the tannins early on."The tannins were extremely slow to evolve, but they've been getting silkier in recent months," she told me.She believes the wines will be very young upon release and age for a long time.

From Focus on California's North Coast (May 2005) by Stephen Tanzer

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2002 Chardonnay Napa Valley

Release Price: $18

Color: White

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