Cabernet Franc
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2029
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Herb-crusted rack of lamb, roasted duck breast, or grilled pork chops with rosemary.
✨ Technical Specifications
Robert Mondavi founded his legendary Oakville winery in 1966 with a vision to create Napa Valley wines that could rival the finest of Europe. While Cabernet Sauvignon became the estate's flagship, Mondavi's exploration of Cabernet Franc highlighted the grape's unique ability to thrive in the warm days and cool marine breezes of Napa Valley. Often sourced from the historic To Kalon Vineyard, this Cabernet Franc is celebrated for its aromatic complexity, blending vibrant red currant and dark cherry fruit with signature savory notes of wild sage, dried herbs, and graphite. Aged in French oak barrels, it showcases a refined structure, velvety tannins, and an elegant, lingering finish that honors Mondavi's pioneering spirit in California winemaking.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1966 by California wine pioneer Robert Mondavi, this landmark estate catalyzed the post-Prohibition renaissance of Napa Valley fine wine. Anchored by the historic Mission-style winery designed by Cliff May, the heart of the estate lies in Oakville's famed To Kalon Vineyard, situated along an alluvial fan of well-drained gravelly loam beneath the Mayacamas Range. Here, warm diurnal shifts and cooling maritime drafts foster phenolic ripeness while preserving structural acidity. Guided by Director of Winemaking Kurtis Ogasawara, viticulture emphasizes rigorous ecological stewardship, highlighted by the CCOF organic certification of its core To Kalon acreage. The winemaking philosophy balances European classicism with Californian generosity, using temperature-controlled fermentation, French oak elevage, and careful plot-by-plot separation. The estate is celebrated for pioneering benchmark dry Fumé Blanc—including ancient ungrafted bush vines from the legendary I Block—and quintessential Napa Valley and To Kalon Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons.