Vintage: Early spring rains in 2018 filled reservoirs and gave the vines ample water for the growing season. While bud break and flowering were a bit late, the season began under ideal weather conditions, creating excellent fruit set and expectations of a generous crop. Sunshine throughout the summer was tempered by the region’s cool breezes and fog, which ensured slow, even ripening for the perfect balance between retained freshness and maximum flavor development. The grapes for our Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon were picked between September 26 and October 26.

Vineyards: Robert Mondavi chose Oakville for the home of his winery in 1966 and planted Cabernet Sauvignon with the goal of creating wines that could stand in the company of the world’s finest. The grapes chosen for our Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the other Bordeaux varietals which round out this delicious blend, are grown on lowfertility, well-drained soils with optimal sun exposure. These influences enable development of rich, complex flavors and impeccable fruit maturity.

Winemaking: The grapes were hand-harvested into small bins and carefully sorted in our gravity-flow cellar. The clusters were gently destemmed directly into traditional French oak tanks for cold soak, fermentation and extended maceration—a total of 27 days of wine to skin contact—maximizing the extraction of varietal character and complexity while keeping the tannins fleshy and supple. The new wine was drained and gently pressed into French-oak barrels (100% new) for malolactic fermentation, assuring seamless integration of fruit and oak. The final blend was assembled through repeated tasting trials over the 19 months of barrel aging. The wine was bottled in July of 2020.

Grape sourcing: 100% Napa Valley, 100% Oakville District, 97% To Kalon Vineyard®