Good reporters are said to have a nose for news. Well, Peter Mondavi, Jr., has a name for wine. He’s part of a legendary Napa Valley wine family, grandson of Cesare and Rosa, who bought the Charles Krug winery in 1943. Their sons, Peter and Robert, operated the winery for 22 years before Robert left the family’s St. Helena operation, moved to nearby Oakville and opened his own winery. The brothers, now over 90, also have earned the title of legend.
Peter Jr. was in St. Louis recently to talk about wine, sell some wine, drink some wine and lead the way at a couple of wine dinners.
We sat, one chill afternoon, at a back table in the Blue Water Grill. Six bottles of wine, an array of glasses, a pitcher and a tray of cheeses were poised and ready for action. Mondavi, 47, with hazel eyes, thick dark hair and a bushy mustache both liberally sprinkled with gray, was equally ready.
Peter and his brother, Marc, operate Charles Krug, an 850-acre estate which dates to 1861 and is regarded as Napa Valley’s first winery. As happens at most wineries, Krug’s vineyards are not contiguous, with parcels in St. Helena, Yountville and in the Carneros, which are, respectively, in the northern, central and southern parts of the valley.
"We’ve taken some major steps forward," he said as he poured a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. "We cut our portfolio almost in half in 1995, and we’ve slowly been increasing production ever since. We make fewer wines, but I think they’re better. This is the first release of this wine; it’s a new one, but we like it.
"Overall, our quality level is excellent, and we’re extremely competitive in our price ranges. There’s always room for improvement, of course, but I think that is coming from some of our new vineyards. We’re especially proud of our Bordeaux-style reds. In ’95, they made up one-third of our wines. Now they’re two-thirds."
The Sauvignon Blanc was terrific. Winemaker Adolfo Alarcon crafted it in the New Zealand style; it hasn’t touched wood since it was picked and it has a delightful aroma and flavor of grapefruit. The wine is crisp and delicious, 98.5 percent Sauvignon Blanc and a touch of Sauvignon Musque, and a superior value at $18. It will be perfect for spring and summer, a marvelous companion for a picnic. Sauvignon Musque, by the way, is a Loire Valley grape that is often used to add aroma intensity and balance to the outstanding white wines of New Zealand.
The Mondavi family also is in the latter portion of a program aimed at making all the vineyards sustainable and the grapes organically grown, meeting the California Certified Organic Farming standards. The program takes three years to complete, and all eight of the Mondavi vineyards either have the certification or are on their way. The key question, of course, is: What effect will organic farming have on the wine?
"I truly don’t know," Mondavi responded, "because we haven’t made enough wine yet. But the idea to go organic was not just a decision about wine. It came from the fact that we know it is vital to take better care of the land and the environment, as well as the grapes."
An ‘05 Chardonnay from the Carneros area was bright and crisp, a nice point between the austere French Chablis and the too-buttery, over-oaked flavors of some of Mondavi’s neighbors. The wine, to retail at $20, is fermented in small lots, 80 percent in stainless steel tanks, the rest in small French oak barrels. Only a fifth of the final blend goes through malolactic fermentation, resulting in a bright crispness and a smooth finish.
The ‘03 Merlot, from grapes grown on the Valley floor, has a big aroma and some intense flavor, far from some of the Merlots of recent years. It came from vineyards on self-sufficient stock, tagged for organic status, with hints of berries in the flavor. The blend is 91 percent Merlot, 7 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1 percent each of Syrah and Petit Verdot. The price is $22.
Mondavi, a third-generation winemaker and vineyard owner, is a rare California winemaker who does not have an enology degree from the University of California at Davis. He has a Stanford degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s in engineering management and an MBA. He was driving a tractor and harvesting grapes when he was a high-schooler, and before, and feels he learned how to make wine by actually making it.
The 2005 Napa vintage was a splendid one, and the ‘05 Zinfandel from St. Helena proves the point. With a deep and intense color, and a big, rustic nose of plum and spice, the wine is 93 percent Zin, with 4 percent Syrah and 3 percent Petit Sirah. Eleven months in oak barrels brought out plum and blackberry flavors to complement the richness and full body of the wine, and its long finish makes it ready for drinking now, even though it is young as red wines go. It should be a magnificent monster in a year or two. The retail price is $25.
And speaking of Napa reds, the ‘04 Cabernet Sauvignon, from Yountville, is another delicious wine, benefitting from a year’s more aging than the fiestier Zin. A full Bordeaux blend of Cab (80 percent), Syrah (5), Petit Verdot (5), Merlot (4), Cabernet Franc (4) and Malbec (2), it’s an excellent wine, with spice and blackberry flavor notes and a rich smoothness that comes from 19 months in mostly French oak. Will retail at $26.
Saving the best for last, Mondavi then poured from the 2002 Family Reserve Red, with the proprietary name Generations as a tribute to the family history. The blend involves Cabernet Sauvignon (60 percent), Merlot (22), Petit Verdot (12), Cabernet Franc (5) and Syrah (1), and given the time in barrel and bottle, it’s just about ready to drink. Another 6-12 months should take it to its peak, but right now there are wonderful notes of mint and wild strawberry that ride along on a brilliant blend. It’s extremely complex, and with a long finish, to accompany any meal. It’s a fine wine to confirm my old theory that if you give me a great meal and a great wine, I’ll find a way to make them go together.
-Joe