Have you had the I Block Fume? I’ve always been intrigued, but haven’t had the chance to try it yet.
Have not tried that one either. Honestly, I rarely drink CA Cabs, but liked the 2015 vintage so much that when a friend ITB offered me an advance bottle to taste, I gave it a shot and was quite frankly blown away. And so I have been looking at Mondavi again more seriously.
Since my original post on this thread, I have been thinking much on why this wine would be the subject of such discounting when it has not been jacked up in price to the levels of other Cabs that have also become very tepid at retail all of a sudden- like Dominus or Paul Hobbs for example.
I wonder if maybe it is the name. As with Jadot and some of the big negociants in Burgundy, for a long time the market was very accepting and understanding of a single brand name covering a wide range of retail values and rarity factors. But with such a focus on the micro-winery in CA now and the rarity factor as a primary sales pitch, I am wondering if maybe the Mondavi name on the higher end wines is a liability for some buyers in a way that did not exist in the past. Nothing wrong with the wine- just a new audience to appease.
Tom, are you saying the Hobbs To Kalon is tepid? Or, Hobbs in general?
I’ll admit to being undecided what or if any of my current Hobbs allocation I’m taking.
So there you have it. It’s kind of no wonder they need a rebranding. I had some previous separate (to Rsv) To Kalon cabs. The mid 90s wines were excellent and the 97 great. I think I have one or two more somewhere. I thought the stopped making it as they’ve had 100% To Kalon Reserve Cab from 2011 on. Honestly, I doubt that it’s
worth double the Reserve.
I’ve also had a bunch of the Reserve Fume and the To Kalon I-Block. I realize that th I -Block Fume is really high in price, but it really is a classic wine. To me it’s one of the few best non-chard whites made in the U.S and the best Sauvignon/Fume. The block is over 70years old, and the wine will age. It has a nice curve in being really good at release, improving for 3-5years after release, then entering a different but still delicious phase out to 15years. The Reserve Fume is good, and mostly To Kalon, but not near as excellent as the I-Block.
Tom, Mondavi definitely suffers a little with its top wines due to association with the lower end wines and their overall size. Especially with the wine buyers at restaurants looking for niche wines, and collectors looking for rarity. I drink a lot of Reserve Cab over every vintage and it really seems under appreciated within the world of Napa Cab.
Purely anecdotal comment on my part based on the large stocks I am seeing here in Dallas at retail for Hobbs (across the board) and a number of other higher end CA Cabs which should, in theory, be disappearing from store shelves very quickly. So please do not make any major decisions based on that- it comes from a very limited observation.
I have been too busy to do any deep market analyses of late, but CA Cab seems a good candidate for such an analysis in the near future. Anecdotally, I remember chasing all over Texas to get my hands on 6 bottle lots of 2013 Dominus and Spottswoode. 2014, prices go up and the wines are just sitting there. And I have noticed more than one instance (small stores and a large national retailer) where CA Cab specialists have 2012-2013 on the shelf and a lot fewer 2014s and 2015s than I would have expected.
Just last week I, with great reluctance, dropped off the Corison list because I was told I was only going to be allocated 2 of the 2015 Kronos this year due to limited supply, but I still had to make other purchases to reach the dollar amount of what my usual 4 would have been- my choices being either more Sunbasket, which I love but already had enough of in hand, or older vintages of Kronos at quite a markup from original price. I was on the Corison list to have worry free access to a set allocation of the wines, plus Sunbasket which is not generally sold at retail that I can see, and certainly not for the prices since at retail the regular Cab is readily available for below the winery price, and sometimes Kronos as well. And considering the library they maintain, I am quite confident a good bit of the wine is going in there and will be available to me for a higher price down the road. No thanks. Even the good guys are really starting to push the envelope, so to speak.
Plus I have noted on this forum an increasing number of people claiming they will drop allocations or are considering doing so.
One more anecdotal note- just today actually from a friend who is a collector and also ITB- that he has been noticing lately that a lot of his higher end Cabs purchased 5-15 years ago are available at auction for prices similar to or less than what he paid at release. Again- anecdotal, but from someone who knows the markets well.
This last point is critical because a good number of customers for rarer or higher end wines buy them feeling secure in the knowledge that, after the impulse to buy wears off, they can resell them and break even or make a profit if for some reason they decide they do not like the wine or need the cash etc. etc. When that market flip goes away, a lot of the appeal of any wine evaporates. Notice that even though Screaming Eagle is still the most expensive wine out there no one is dropping because the secondary market is still even higher. When you take that safety net away, the price being asked becomes a lot more important than it used to be.
Hope I am not just butting in with tangential stuff, but I have to say the use of “to kalon” by Mondavi and Constellation is confusing and not too transparent. It is a trademark, so, I guess they can do whatever. I do not know if the reserve is always from 100% to kalon; maybe it is. It can be a superb wine though, but I have not tried the 2015. The special to kalon bottling I thought was from a select parcel(s) e.g., Monastery block and some of what they get from Macdonald. And the examples I have tasted…they used to pour it in one of the tasting rooms at Mondavi…it is a step up. Also, it is a big vineyard, giving fruit to other bottlings. In 2013, the local sales rep told me at a tasting that in that vintage, both the Oakville and regular Napa bottlings were 100% to kalon fruit. Now, I cannot validate that, but it does underline that quality across that vineyard varies, maybe a lot.
Bingo. There is clearly a saturation point for many similar, high octane, high price CA cabs that is just a nudge away from a glut. Without the promise of Parker waving his magic wand over the next new vintage, it is certainly possible that the market will back away from many $250-$350 bottles of cabernet with very little difference in flavor profiles. When the next recession hits, or silicon valley starts to wobble, it may get to be difficult for many investors get their money out of vanity projects in the valley. Will Napa continue to draw big crowds when $100 tasting “experiences” are getting to be the norm?
I speak as part of the generation of boomers who avidly collected and drank these wines as they ascended in the world spotlight, and had the disposable income to back it up. Where are the new buyers going to come from? It will be interesting to see if the Mondavi discount pattern starts to get replicated by others. Some of the older producers who never chased the high extraction, high points model in the long run might be the winners. Went to a tasting of multiple vintages of Frog’s Leap Cabernet, most from magnum, going back to the early 90’s during the past summer. I remember the presenter remarking that sales were starting pick up for them. They have largely stayed true to a more conservative, lower extraction/ lower alcohol/ lower cost model and these wines have not only survived, but aged beautifully over time.
FWIW Frog’s Leap 2016 is largely available for about 50 bucks retail. Sometime I wonder why I should be looking for anything more?
Yes, with a vineyard that size, quality is going to vary. Plus even within a consistent block they can elect to farm differently, modifying yield, picking, etc. that can change the peak quality. The soil is definitely different. The gravelly stuff is back off the main road. Supposedly some of the Beckstoffer acreage has lesser soil, but still turns out fantastic fruit. The part owned by UC Davis is supposedly the worst section.
Also yes, there were 2-3 vintages ending in 2013 when the Oakville Cab was all ToKalon, as was the Reserve Fume. The 13 versions of those wines are really good. But that is in large part due to the vintage, which was great. Otherwise I honestly don’t think that the wine clearly is better due to vineyard source. I think the Oakville is consistently good. The 2010 is as good as the 13 . The 13 also was a little different than some others as it had more Cab Franc and other stuff blended nicely, making it only around 80% Cab .
Mondavi owns a trademark, which they were granted before the recent legal battle. They claim that it is on a branding not specifically a vineyard designation. I believe the crux of the suit was that Beckstoffer wanted the trademark as a brand invalidated and wanted the name to be applicable to only the vineyard and in fact excluding some of the added blocks which most consider To Kalon today. Primarily he wanted to be able use the To Kalon name, which I don’t think he (or his clients) did to the point of the fight. I know that he got the right to have his fruit from his holding there called To Kalon.
I don’t really know what has happened to Mondavi/Constellation’s claimed right to use To Kalon as a brand-name. So far it really DOESN’T seem confusing as everything called ToKalon IS Fromm that Vineyard. Their new, recently put-on-hold venture might have intended to make the shift to To Kalon as a brand, with fruit from elsewhere, but that was put on hold for a reason.
Btw, not that it matters but the older I-Block Fume had one of the most attractive bottles ever to me. Frosted glass with a raised RM logo in the glass, and the artistic grape vine dominating the front label.
I saw the 2011 and 2013 vintage available for $99. How’s the price?
2011 should sell for less, but the quantity was decreased in this vintage. Considered an off vintage for Napa, although if you like more structure and less fruit it should be great about now. Supposedly 100% ToKalon fruit for this version. If you like your wines with a more European restraint (relative to Napa i suppose) this is s pretty decent buy I would think at $99.
Interesting tidbit. Just for kicks, I was looking through the Premier Napa Valley lots over my morning coffee, and the Schrader lot is to kalon fruit from Monastery block, a Mondavi holding rather than Beckstoffer. The Mondavi lot is to kalon from “their favoite” blocks, rather than Monastery per se as has been often the case in the past.
And it’s back. But at $89 this time. Regardless, cheapest on Winesearcher. Gonna grab myself a few bottles. 26 bottles remaining.
And gone that fast. Damnit.
Opus uses the primo blocks of To Kalon and sells for $350. At $99, the 2015 Reserve Cab To Kalon is well worth it. Declassified Opus One…