2007 Continuum

Tim Mondavi, son of Robert Mondavi, is an “artist” as described by his daughter, Carissa, and he was looking for another way to express that attribute and truly focus on and create an artisan-style wine.  Over lunch at Chops in Atlanta, Carissa Mondavi and Stuart Harrison explained how this was the dreamchild for Continuum Estate, which released their first vintage in 2005.  The name of the winery is not doubt defined by this statement made by Tim himself: “For four generations our family has created a continuum of wine excellence, enhancing the celebration of life.”

The wine was fantastic. A blend, the wine is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 19% Petit Verdot. The grapes are sourced from an Oakville winery that the family has owned for generations. The wine itself is a deep purple color, with a beautiful complex nose (I caught both fruit and flowers). It is smooth and velvety - more like a high end Bordeaux than a Napa wine in some ways. It is full bodied, tannic, well balanced with a long finish. Definitely a wine to buy if you can get your hands on one. Not surprisingly it has been given 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 93 points by Wine Spectator.

2005 Cloud View Napa Valley Red Wine