Robert Mondavi Winery
Pinot noir Robert Mondavi Carneros Napa Valley
2017
About this winery
Robert Mondavi established his namesake winery in 1966 with a vision to create Napa Valley wines that would stand in the company of the world’s finest. He chose To Kalon Vineyard in the heart of the Napa Valley as the home for Robert Mondavi Winery.
See the Robert Mondavi Winery detail page for more information on this brand
Product notes
The foggy, wind-sweptslopes of the Carneros region are an ideal home for Pinot Noir, a cool-climate loving grape. Great care is needed to produce fine pinot noir, a notoriously challenging and fragile variety, and the marine influences allow for gradual, flavor-building hang time needed for peak flavor maturity. The low-nutrient soils provide lower yields, and the fewer berries that do grow, with less competition for natural resources, have rich, concentrated flavors and produce a deep-colored wine.
Production notes
The grapes were hand harvested into small bins in the cool of the morning, then gently de-stemmed and crushed. Select vineyard blocks were fermented as whole clusters for added depth of flavor. A portion of the wine was fermented in French oak fermentation tanks to enhance the extraction of color and flavor during the 18days of skin contact. The new wine was gently pressed and transferred to French Oak barrels (27% new) for malolactic fermentation and seven (7) months of aging, seamlessly integrating the fruit and oak. The wine was bottled in June 2018.
Tasting notes
The heady aromatics and refined silkiness of pinot noir show themselves here with a swirl of wild dark cherry and ripe, red plum aromas seamlessly layered with hints of dusty cocoa and dried herb complexity finishing with an intriguing touch of pink peppercorn spice to round out the lush fruit.