1996 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

The Mondavi winery was in the process of changing its director of winemaking during the '97 harvest, and, according to several Mondavi execs, the inmates were running the asylum at the time. From my early tastings of the '97s, they have done well. Mondavi cabernet-based wines, especially those entirely or largely from the great To-Kalon Vineyard, continue to the be standouts here, but the uncompromisingly dry and serious white wines are better balanced than ever before for development in bottle (no doubt the growing percentage of natural yeasts plays a role). This strikes me as a rather daring strategy, considering that many wine neophytes instinctively gravitate toward the Mondavi name on restaurant wine lists. But then the Mondavi operation has traditionally been ahead of the curve. The '97 chardonnays, including the Reserve, were all bottled before the '98 harvest to retain freshness and verve.