2007 Continuum Proprietary Red
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Tasting notes
Vintages 2005 through 2007 include some fruit from To Kalon, a vineyard which also supplied fruit to Robert Mondavi winery and Opus One. Tim Mondavi wanted to ensure he was doing something decidedly different to those wines. They both included Merlot, so for these vintages he chose not to use it in his Continuum wines. About 20% of this vintage comes from the site on Pritchard Hill that would become Continuum. The remainder comes from To Kalon. This is the first vintage that includes mountain fruit. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 18% Petit Verdot. There are entirely different aromas from this vintage, including a range of top notes, as well as some floral elements and graphite accents. The wine is nicely poised and polished across the palate, offering more finesse than the previous two vintages. There is a balance of rich flavour, abundant spice, and an elegant frame with a leaner , more upright and poised presentation compared with the first two vintages, as well as greater ageability. The tannin is very fine and persistent, offering mouth-watering length through a long finish. (ECB)
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2007 Proprietary Red comes mostly from the To Kalon vineyard, with 13% of the fruit from Pritchard Hill. Blended of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Petit Verdot, it has a deep garnet color and bursts out of the glass with pure cassis, vibrant blueberry preserves and blackberry pie scents with a profound underlying fragrance of candied violets, cinnamon stick, cloves and underbrush plus notions of beef drippings and pencil shavings. Full-bodied and voluptuously fruited with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, it has wonderfully pure layers, finishing very long. It has incredible delineation and should be very long lived.
(15.3% alcohol): Full, bright ruby. Blackberry, blueberry, violet, licorice and wild herbs on the dark, high-pitched nose; the wine's Cabernet Franc component contributes perfume and lift. Pure silk on entry, then tight and youthful in the middle palate, with strong, nicely integrated acidity shaping and intensifying the flavors of blackberry, blueberry, crushed rock, violet and bitter chocolate. Delivers an uncanny balance of sweetness, acidity, minerality and floral lift and finishes with compelling perfume and resounding length. This wonderfully subtle wine should evolve positively in bottle for another 15 to 20 years and has some fireworks ahead of it. With 24 hours in the recorked bottle, it became a bit more liqueur-like but its thickness was perfected framed and supported by firm acidity.
Full, bright ruby. Blackberry, blueberry, violet, licorice and wild herbs on the dark, high-pitched nose; the wine's Cabernet Franc component contributes perfume and lift. Pure silk on entry, then tight and youthful in the middle palate, with strong, nicely integrated acidity shaping and intensifying the flavors of blackberry, blueberry, crushed rock, violet and bitter chocolate. Delivers an uncanny balance of sweetness, acidity, minerality and floral lift and finishes with compelling perfume and resounding length. With 24 hours in the recorked bottle, it became a bit more liqueur-like but its thickness was perfectly framed and supported by firm acidity. (ST) 95+
About the producer
Created by Tim and Marcia Mondavi, Continuum is a Napa project that continues the Mondavi family legacy. Based in Pritchard Hill, this estate winery produces elegant, mineral Cabernet blends from hillside fruit.