2016 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve***
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Tasting notes
This is a structured and layered red with currants, ripe berries and hints of chocolate and hazelnuts. Full body. Blueberry, chocolate and spice flavors. Shows focus and craftsmanship. Plus great vineyards. Drink in 2024, but hard not to enjoy now.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The flagship 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a more long-term effort yet is loaded with potential. Coming all from Mondavi’s To Kalon holdings and seeing an extended maceration and 18 months in new oak, its deep purple color is followed by rocking notes of blackberries, black cherries, smoke tobacco, black licorice, and crushed rocks. With a terrific sense of minerality, subtle background oak, full body, and impeccable balance, hide bottles for 4-5 years and this beauty will cruise for 3 decades or so.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is dense, powerful and explosive, with serious concentration and tannic heft. Readers should not be in a rush to open the 2016, as it needs time to come into its own. There is plenty to admire and look forward to in this decidedly virile, potent Cabernet Sauvignon.
About the producer
Robert Mondavi is a name known the world over. The ambitious businessman created his eponymous winery in 1966 to produce world-class wines in Napa, pioneering quality winemaking and becoming a champion for the region.