2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

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.

My tasting at Mondavi began with a very strong collection of 2002 sauvignon blanc bottlings, from a vintage that Tim Mondavi said offered much higher acidity than 2001. Thanks in large part to the fresh acids, I was more impressed by the Mondavi pinot noirs than ever before, with the wines showing especially bright colors and vibrant floral, mineral and fruit aromas. But the stars of the tasting were the winery's cabernets, which are particularly strong in 2001 as well as 2002. Compared to this winery's cabernets in the lean years of '98 and '99, the new vintages are altogether richer and riper. They also give the impression of coming from lower crop levels. Tim Mondavi, energized after taking a sabbatical in early 2003, says the 2001 cabernets offer a great balance of fruit and tannins. The 2002s, he notes, show more exuberant fruit and considerable, but sweeter, tannins.