Today we are going to be taking a trip to the Napa Valley and discuss a wine from the prestigious Robert Mondavi vineyards which is now owned by Constellation Brands. Today I will be reviewing the 2015 Robert Mondavi, "Private Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon. Let's start off this review by learning that the grapes for this Mondavi Red are grown in the Nothern California Coastal areas and as such are therefore are not subject to the hot days of the Napa Valley. Whether or not that will make a difference in this wine remains to be seen. The grapes also come from different vineyards throughout Northern California. This wine up for review is also a wine which is blended with small amounts of Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Tannat, and Petit Verdot. That's a heck of lot of different wine varietals if you ask me, why this wine would be blended with so many different varietals is beyond me, perhaps the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of this vintage or these vineyards were not all that great, I don't know. At an Alcohol level of 13.5% and at a cost of around $8 this of course is also the low end of the Mondavi wine line up. Still with all this being said, none of that means that you or I should not or will will not enjoy the wine so let's dig a little deeper into this wine and find out whats is going with it.
Let's begin this review at the Bouquet. On the nose this wine is rather impressive with a strong note of Cedar or Cigar Box as it is sometimes described. To me the aroma of Cedar or Cigar Box is an awesome opening for what is supposed to be a serious Red varietal such as that of Cabernet Sauvignon. Following up this note of Cedar or Cigar Box is a deep and rather rich Blackberry that when combined together with the other note continues to give me the impression that this should be a fairly serious wine and one that is well put together. Another note that I believe always goes great with the ones already on display and that is also present here is that of Black liquorice, and boy is that note ever present as that note is not shy here and I am loving it. Let's talk also about the note of Leather, you know that smell of a nice Leather jacket that you break out as the weather begins to cool off in the Fall and you put away when the weather begins to warm up in the Spring. That rustic Leather note is also presented rather well in this Bouquet. Blended in super nicely is also the note of Cocoa that presents itself on the nose rather nicely as well and will indeed make you sit up and take notice. On the end of the nose is an aroma of a sort of candy sweetness. This is the run of what my nose is picking up here in this wine and it is a lot. So far, so good folks. I specifically want to draw your attention to the Bouquet of this wine because the wine is certainly demanding that we pay attention to what it is appearing to promise us. The Bouquet is presenting this wine as a powerhouse of a wine but whether the rest of the wine supports that or not remains to be seen. I am sure you have been fooled once or twice into thinking that because the Bouquet of a wine is great that the rest of the wine is great, we probably all know better now. Let's try the wine on the Palette now and see if it is as presentable as the Bouquet is. Folks before we move on I leave you with a question. Since we are talking about an $8 wine here, should it even have this kind of a Bouquet in the first place?
Moving to the Palette now I will tell you that this is really and truly a fruit forward wine. but unlike a lot inexpensive and fruit forward wines this particular wine does indeed have something to offer in the way of a little bit of depth or complexity. Now, don't get me wrong because on one hand this is NOT a $50 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon but on the other hand it wasn't designed or priced to be either. First let me state right up front that aside from being a fruit forward wine this wine is also heavy on the sugary or sweet side as well. When first tasting this wine, aside from the Sugar or fruit forwardness, the note of Black berry is the note that will hit you first. The Blackberry is mixed with Molasses which in a large way also adds to the sweet / sugary note. Aside from the Blackberry all is not truly lost because there are some other notes that push the wine forward.......to an extent. Let's talk about Tannins for a moment. Could there be Tannins in an $8 wine? Isn't this particular wine just meant to be drank and for you to then move on? Well....yes and no. Yes, there are Tannins present and they are soft but they are also perfect here in this particular wine. If you love Tannins but do not like the strong Tannins of an Oakey Red that is capable pf being Cellared for years and that still needs time to develop then you surely will love these Tannins. They are just enough to let you know that they are there and to give you some time to enjoy them. There also enough Tannins to tell you that the wine can be around for a least another few years to enjoy as well. Long term aging, defenitely not, but three to five years is a can do here. There is also an astringent note to this wine that is on the Mid-Palette which is perfect because that is where these Tannins are also at their most notable. Moving on now let's discuss the note of Cocoa that is present. This is not a note that I expected to be present folks. I figured that this inexpensive wine was pushing it as it is. The Cocoa reminded me of a baking Cocoa and added another sense of depth to the wine. There was some Black Pepper but just slightly more than a touch and I believe that this was really presented nicely in combination with the Molasses and Tannins. Improving this inexpensive wine is the note of Oak. While I cannot tell you what type of Oak or for how long the wine sat in this Oak. What I can tell you is that the Oak will be noted and enjoyed throughout the entire Palette. Rounding out the palette is a note of leather as well. As you can see now, this wine does indeed have some depth to it and would have been a great wine if not for the over powering and Sugary fruit forwardness that it overloads the Palette with. Let's discuss what that did to this wine and how it ruined it in my opinion.
So, it is now about time to wrap it up folks and give you my final feelings on this wine. Would I recommend this wine to anyone? The answer is, that depends. This wine is perfect for the person who loves over the top sweeter reds or someone who loves a fruit forward wine. Now don't get me wrong, you can srill love a Red that is on the fruit forward side (I do) there is nothing wrong with that but this wine is waaaayyy over the top in my book. If however you have a Palette that is developed or sophisticated enough to pick up on the various notes that I mentioned then it is also probably developed enough to categorize this wine into it's rightful place which is in the "not acceptable" book. If this is the case with you then I suggest you (and I) look elsewhere for an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon as there are many great ones on the market.
On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 82 points
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