Join Our Mailing List

Enter your e-mail address

Subscribe
Unsubscribe

The Waltz of the Titans (Part 2)

Mondavi Wines

1998 La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi, Pinot Grigio, California ($16.00)

Pale straw in color, this wine has a lemon citrus nose with some mineral notes. It’s full bodied and packed with lemon citrus flavors. There’s also a bit of pettilance (a prickling on the tongue) and hints of unripe peaches. It also has a good mid-palate and finishes well. This wine would be perfect with a light seafood pasta.

1998 Robert Mondavi Winery, Fume Blanc, Napa Valley ($14.00)

Straw in color, this wine has an herbaceous, gooseberry nose with hints of tropical fruit and celery. It’s full bodied with nice lemony acidity and grapefruit flavors. It has a good finish with tropical fruit notes.

1998 Robert Mondavi Coastal, Chardonnay, Central Coast ($10.00)

Pale gold in color, this wine has a big nose of peach with some botrytis. On the palate, it’s crisp with good acidity and delivers well-balanced pear and grapefruit flavors. The finish is adequate.

1997 Byron, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley ($20.00)

This wine is garnet in color and has good legs. It has a big raspberry nose. Full bodied, it’s packed with black cherry flavors supported by mild tannins. However, it’s a little high in acidity. There’s also some vanilla on the finish. This wine would be perfect with grilled salmon.

1998 Robert Mondavi Coastal, Merlot, Central Coast ($10.00)

Deep ruby in color with long, long legs, this wine has a vegetal bell pepper nose typical of many California Merlots. There are some hints of red fruit as well. On the palate, it delivers blackberry flavors with some good acidity; but there’s a hole in the mid-palate (something I find in a lot of California Merlots). It’s also a little short on the finish.

1997 Robert Mondavi Coastal, Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast ($11.00)

Dark ruby in color with long, long legs, this wine has a vanilla nose with hints of oak and tobacco. It’s full bodied with good extract and delivers black fruit and currant flavors on the palate. It’s just a little short on the finish.

1997 La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi, Barbera, California ($20.00)

Deep ruby in color, with very long legs, this wine has a beautiful perfumy nose of dried cherries. It’s dry and full bodied with black fruit and cola flavors that burst on the palate. There’s a pleasant sweetness on the finish. This was one of the stars of this tasting.

1997 Robert Mondavi Winery, Zinfandel, Napa Valley ($13.00)

Deep, dark ruby in color verging on black, this wine has very long legs. The nose is warm with sweet spice and eucalyptus. Full bodied, there’s plenty of jammy black fruit flavor.

1997 Robert Mondavi Coastal, Zinfandel, North Coast ($13.00)

Ruby in color with long legs, this wine has a fruity nose of red berries. On the palate, it’s both sweet and dry with faint, undistinguishable flavors. It’s also short on the finish.

1997 Robert Mondavi Winery, Sauvignon Blanc, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley ($18.00)

Straw in color with greenish yellow tints, this wine has a classic Sauvignon Blanc nose of cat’s pee with gooseberries and a sweet herbaceousness. It’s crisp and unctuous on the palate with grassy and mineral flavors. It’s well structured with perfect acidity and a nice finish. Another star of this tasting.

1999 Woodbridge, White Zinfandel, California ($6.00)

Light pink in color, this wine has a sweet strawberry nose. It’s fruity on the palate with under-ripe strawberry flavors. It has enough acidity to let it stand up to food. The finish is adequate with some citrus notes.

1998 Woodbridge, Sauvignon Blanc, California ($6.00)

Pale straw in color, this wine has an herbaceous nose with some gooseberry and subtle pear notes. Its flavors are predominantly citrus followed by minerals and pears on the finish.

1998 Woodbridge, Chardonnay, California ($7.00)

Light gold in color, it has a nose of green apples, pears, and vanilla. It’s big on the palate with plenty of pear and vanilla flavor along with subtle hints of oak. This wine is nicely structured with good acidity and a little lemon citrus on the finish. A good value Chardonnay.

1998 Woodbridge, Zinfandel, California ($7.00)

Gemlike and garnet in color, this wine has long legs with a huge nose that jumps from the glass. The nose is black cherry with some cinnamon spice and white pepper. On the palate there’s more spice than fruit, which is predominantly boysenberry. It has a nice spicy finish.

1998 Woodbridge, Merlot, California ($8.00)

Light ruby in color with good legs, this wine has a vegetal nose of green bell pepper. It’s thin on the palate with not enough extract for my taste and short on the finish.

1998 Woodbridge, Cabernet Sauvignon, California ($8.00)

Deep ruby in color with long, long legs, this wine has a pretty nose of black currants and cassis followed by burnt sugar. On the palate, it’s full bodied and quite dry with black cherry and cedar flavors with some tobacco notes. It’s well structured with tannin and fruit in good balance.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections.

If you have any suggestions for future tastings, drop us a line at the address below.