Considerable brick along and outside the medium ruby. Big tertiary bouquet cranking out wet Mexican leather, red volcanic dust gobs of dusty crushed velvet and heaps and heaps of minty vanilla oak.
Is this my favorite Mondavi right now? It damn well could be. Since the demise of *Unfiltered* which was always ridiculously austere on release and took like 10 years to even approach, the Oakville has charmed me again and again. In the mouth more fat delectability, but this isn’t Paso or Washington, baby: this is pure Napa hedonism in a bargain package with decades of respectful lineage.
As with most 2011’s, it is not over the top porn, just nutty plum entry against the rising rasp of middle before full-blown shrill finish kicks in, and then more warm nutty fruit takes over as all that vanilla massages those tannins into a happy ending.
This is a gorgeous wine. It’s a drinking wine. It’s a little disjointed, it’s not a blockbuster, it doesn’t compel you into drooling blubbering hedonistic rambling spectacles of X-rayed psychological analysis but it also doesn’t make the quizzical corners of your eyes wonder what were they thinking here? For the price? I mean holy shit how can you go wrong.
2011 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley 14.0
Stephen McConnell 