By Robert Mondavi Winery
2017 'The Reserve' Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Napa Valley

Wine Details
Total Acid: 6.20 g/L
Final pH: 3.66
Residual Sugar: 0.20 g/L
Grape Sourcing: 100% Napa Valley, 100% Oakville, 100% To Kalon Vineyard
Varietal Composition: 94.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc

Wine Description
This Reserve embodies Robert Mondavi's philosophy of making wines that are powerful yet gentle. Each year the blend reflects the 'First Growth' quality of To Kalon Vineyard. It is a classic wine that represents the history of innovation and style at Robert Mondavi Winery. - Genevieve Janssens, Director of Winemaking

Tasting Notes
As ever, this wine expresses the singular elegance and powerful character of To Kalon Vineyard. Sage, black currant, and vanilla bean aromas waft from the glass. The wine coats the mouth with fine tannins and sings with lively acidity, exuding flavors of ripe black cherry, fragrant dried herbs, plum compote, cinnamon, clove, and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Vintage
The 2017 growing season began with significant rain, ending a five-year drought. Summer featured several heat spikes, leading to an early harvest. While the heat waves were a concern, retained water in the quenched soils helped us maintain vigorous vines and plump, juicy clusters of fruit through the season. Despite a series of wildfires at the beginning of October, the early harvest ensured the majority of our grapes were picked and in the cellar before the fires began.

Vineyard
This is the seventh vintage of our To Kalon Vineyard-designated Reserve, and it is made only from the vineyard's finest blocks. When Robert Mondavi chose To Kalon Vineyard in west Oakville as the home for his new winery in 1966, he remarked that it was "a vineyard with a distinguished history and a magical nature. Ideal soils, sunlight, and rain - to my eye, the vineyard was a treasure." Those sentiments were reconfirmed when To Kalon Vineyard was named Vineyard of the Year by the California State Farm Bureau in 2011.

Winemaking
The grapes were hand-harvested with three stages of strict sorting: first, on the vine, then by individual clusters, and then again by single berry following destemming. The selected grapes went directly into traditional French oak tanks for cold soak, fermentation, and extended maceration - a total of 31 days of wine-to-skin contact - maximizing the extraction of varietal character and complexity while keeping the tannins round and supple. The new wine was drained and gently pressed into 100% new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, assuring seamless integration of fruit and oak. The final blend was assembled through repeated tasting trials over 20 months of barrel aging. The wine was bottled on August 13, 2019.
[Information provided by Constellation]

ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA VALLEY RESERVE 2017
Monday, November 30, 2020
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2017
Score: 97
Wonderful aromas of fresh herbs, such as sage and mint. Currants. Extremely aromatic. Full body. Fantastic tension and focus. Reminds me of the 1974. Really exceptional. Gorgeous. Cool and sleek. Try after 2023, but already fascinating to drink.

Robert Mondavi Winery 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Producer: Robert Mondavi Winery
Place of Origin: Oakville, Napa Valley
Color: Red 
Grape/Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc
Rating: 93+
Drinking window: 2022 - 2037
From 2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth (Jan 2020)
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni in September 2019
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is rich, enticing and superexpressive. Bright floral and spice overtones add freshness to this deep, plush Cabernet Sauvignon. Raspberry jam, spice, leather, cedar and menthol all take shape in the glass. This is a classy, polished and nuanced wine with great depth and tons of personality.

2017 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Producer: Robert Mondavi Winery
Location: USA, California, North Coast, Napa Valley, Oakville
Color: Red
Price: $175
Rating: 93
Tasting Date: 1/31/2020
Maturity: 2023 - 2043
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Source: Napa Valley’s 2017s
While the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve checks in behind the 2016, it’s a terrific effort as well as a beautiful wine. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and a splash of Cabernet Franc, all from the estate’s holdings in the To Kalon Vineyard, it reveals a deep purple hue as well as medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, violets, and Asian spice. It shows the more focused, linear style of the vintage with its ripe, polished tannins, outstanding balance, and a great finish. Give bottles 3-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades or so.

Robert Mondavi 2017 The Reserve To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
Rating: 93 - Cellar Selection
Price: $175
Designation: The Reserve To Kalon Vineyard
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Oakville, Napa, California, US
Winery: Robert Mondavi
Alcohol: 14.50%
Bottle Size: 750.00 ml
Category: Red
Date Published: 12/1/2020
Reviewed by: Virginie Boone
With tiny amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, this reserve-worthy wine is age-worthy and structured, with hugely concentrated red fruit and bursts of dried herb. Tight-grained tannins emphasize its power as underlying acidity builds on the palate to provide a hint of brightness. Enjoy best from 2027–2030.

ROBERT MONDAVI Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville The Reserve To Kalon Vineyard 2017
Score: 92
Release Price: $175
Region: California / Napa / Oakville
Color: Red
Issue: Nov 15, 2020
Very solid, with a direct beam of steeped black currant and plum fruit, carried by hints of loam and black licorice. A loamy note mingles with the fruit through the broad finish, while light herb and singed alder hints check in. Best from 2021 through 2031. — JM

2017 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Reserve
Producer: Robert Mondavi
From: USA, California, North Coast, Napa Valley, Oakville
Color: Red
Type: Table
Sweetness: Dry
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Rating: 91+
Release Price: $175
Drink Date: 2019 - 2027
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Issue Date: 31st Oct 2019
Source: Issue 245 End of October 2019, The Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Reserve is youthfully mute and sluggish to begin, slowly offering baked cassis, prunes, blueberry preserves and sauteed herbs notes with touches of tobacco leaf and tilled soil plus a waft of cedar. The palate is delicately played and medium-bodied with tightly knit flavors and firm, rugged tannins, finishing a little herbal and astringent.

Robert Mondavi 2017 Oakville Napa Valley The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $175
Rating: 90
There are gentle, gracious aspects to this young cabernet, along with cool vibrancy to the dark plum flavors. The tannins are tough and smoky, driving the wine toward bass notes of umami and oak. There’s freshness here, the wine needing time to meld. - J.G. (12/20)