2008 Continuum

As the challenges of difficult growing seasons fade with time, two things happen. First, in the memory of winemakers, rain events magically become less extreme: the actual torrential rainfall that plagued a harvest shrinks to moderate precipitation and eventually to a vague recollection of moisture. Freakishly cool or brutally hot harvest weather or damaging hail storms are virtually forgotten, as the body has a short memory for pain. At the same time, as the wines themselves mature and are transformed, they reveal themselves to be less extreme after all, until at some point it can be next to impossible to find the insanity of the vintage in the bottle. I’ve seen these patterns play out again and again in temperate wine-growing areas like Bordeaux, Burgundy and northern Italy—and even in normally hot, bone-dry growing regions. Two thousand eight was such a year for California’s North Coast.

Last October, Continuum was essentially a construction site. Over the last year, Tim Mondavi and his family have done substantial work on their new cellar, which is now operational, although much work still remains. Continuum's current and upcoming releases are impressive, to say the least. I also tasted the estate's second wine, Novicium, for the first time. Mondavi's approach to the 2011 vintage included shorter macerations and earlier bottling. Pritchard Hill was one of the best places to be that year, and it shows in the quality of the estate's 2011s. I also tasted the 2008 and 2009, both of which are developing beautifully in bottle.

I was super-impressed with the two wines I tasted from Continuum, Tim Mondavi's new venture on Pritchard Hill, not far from Chappellet and Bryant. Mondavi is gradually moving towards 100% estate fruit, but these early vintages include some fruit from vineyards in Oakville and Stag's Leap. Continuum is also distinguished by a fairly large presence of Cabernet Franc. This is one of the most exciting new properties in Napa Valley.

Tim Mondavi's Bordeaux blend hasn't missed a beat in recent vintages, and yet the wine has been totally transformed in just the past few years. As recently as 2007, it was made from 80% To Kalon fruit and just 20% from his new estate on Pritchard Hill. In 2008, his estate vines, planted in iron-rich volcanic soil, comprised 70% of the blend, and in 2009 79%. The percentage of cabernet sauvignon has also risen steadily, reaching 75% in the 2009 vintage. Yields rarely surpass two tons per acre on this property. Mondavi does a strict sorting of his fruit, vinifies in oak fermenters with a maceration lasting about 35 days, and does some batonnage in barrel. Mondavi told me he harvested quickly in dry, windy conditions in 2008. The 2009 harvest was longer, and there was "less collapse of fruit," yielding a more floral wine. He summed up: "2008 has more nerve while 2009 is more opulent."