Winery - La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This illustrates one trend in California, toward making riper, sweeter, softer and oakier Sangioveses, more akin to St.-Julien than Chianti. In the process, it loses the varietal’s delicacy, but there’s no denying this is a sumptuous, delicious, complex red dinner wine, like a light but fine claret.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Zesty and zippy. Absent are the lean grapefruit and bitter-almond flavors common to this varietal; they’ve been benched for a fuller-bodied style with texture and orange and tangerine qualities. Best lightly chilled, it’s the perfect foil for cheese.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Winemaker Tim Mondavi has been trying as hard as anyone to add complexity to this workhorse grape. Aromas are of berries, chocolate, herbs and earth. Dry and fairly rich, though not a blockbuster.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A luxuriously smooth and fruity wine that drinks well now, it has pretty aromas of wild berries, herbs and bacon, and very extracted berry and spice flavors. Dry, but has a sweet glycerin-laden mouthfeel and a long finish. Mainly Sangiovese, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Teroldego and Cabernet Franc.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A light, refreshing, amazingly clean and delicious wine. With only 8% alcohol but 9.7% residual sugar, it’s a tasty sweet-toother that delivers plenty of wonderful ripe fruit and spice. It’s almost delicate, the wine equivalent of a well-made crème brûlée—which it would pair with beautifully.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This flavorful, appetizing wine would be perfect with a wide variety of foods because it’s so fruity and clean. The freshest, ripest peaches and nectarines float out of the glass, with similar fruity flavors; meanwhile, crisp acidity makes the wine bright and zingy. No wood mars the bright, pure flavors, which finish with a trace of almond-skin bitterness.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The flagship of La Famiglia, this represents a supreme effort to perfect Sangiovese in California. Dry berry fruit is wrapped in soft acids and low tannins that make for elegant drinking. It’s a good wine but struggles to find complexity and nuance. Yet Colmera is a wine to watch. Contains 83% Sangiovese, with 14% Syrah and 3% Teroldego. —S.H.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Mondavi tries to bring refinement to a varietal that is stubbornly rustic. Flavors of grilled meats, plums and pepper are sharply acidic. This is a zesty wine that you don’t want to get too analytical about. It will flatter lasagna and anything with lots of olive oil and butter.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Better than most California Sangioveses, with rich berry-spicy aromas and flavors, and a silky texture. It’s youthful and vibrant now, and should be drunk young. Contains 3% Zinfandel and 2% Charbono. The odd-shaped bottle contains only 2/3 of a regular bottle.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Kind of blah, a simple wine with lemony, earthy flavors. Clean and very dry, but seems to need more oomph. Just sits there in the mouth without offering much excitement.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
