Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Botrytis
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5 to 20 years from the vintage release, though exceptional vintages can cellar even longer, developing deeper amber hues and complex notes of caramel and dried fruits.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic blue cheeses, artisanal fruit tarts (such as apricot or pear), and rich savory starters like duck liver pâté.
✨ Technical Specifications
Robert Mondavi, a towering figure in California wine history, was a relentless innovator who sought to prove that Napa Valley could rival the greatest wine regions of Europe. While he famously popularized dry Sauvignon Blanc under the 'Fumé Blanc' moniker, his exploration of sweet, botrytized wines remains a testament to his visionary spirit. Produced only in select vintages when the rare, beneficial 'noble rot' (Botrytis cinerea) develops in the vineyards, this Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc is a luscious, golden nectar. The botrytis dehydrates the grapes, concentrating their natural sugars, acids, and flavors. Fermented and aged in French oak barrels, the resulting wine marries intense honeyed apricot, candied citrus, and ginger notes with a vibrant, balancing acidity and a subtle touch of sweet oak spice, echoing the legendary sweet wines of Sauternes.
🍾 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.