2018 Continuum Proprietary Red
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Still vibrant, youthful and fresh, the 2018 Proprietary Red features floral scents alongside sage and bay leaf nuances, all adding remarkable complexity to the cassis and black cherry notes. A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, it's full-bodied and silky in feel but turns dusty and tannic on the long finish. This one needs time.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
100% estate grown and made. 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot. Lifted floral and citrus notes are coupled with fresh, ripe plum that give complexity to the aromas. The palate is detailed and nuanced, fine-tuned and subtle. There are notes of cacao nib, graphite, tobacco leaf, and a light hint of coffee across a detailed palate. Pink grapefruit emerges with air. The tannin is impressively fine-grained, persistent and well balanced by acidity for a long finish. The wine is somehow energetic while introspective at the same time. Vibrant, fresh and persistent with a silky mouthfeel. (ECB)
The 2018 Proprietary Red Wine Sage Mountain Vineyard is another magnificent wine from the Mondavi family. Soaring and regal in its intensity, the 2018 possesses breathtaking aromatic presence and tons of the pedigree that have made wines off this site so compelling pretty much since the beginning. Vibrant dark fruit, lavender, sage, mint and mocha build into an impossibly long, silky finish. The 2018 is a flat-out stunner.
Coming all from the Sage Mountain Vineyard on Pritchard Hill, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. This is classic 2018 with its dense, concentrated, slightly backward, yet full-bodied and incredibly impressive style. Offering lots of ripe black (black cherry, currant) fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and chocolate-like aromatics, it has terrific concentration, ripe, building tannins, a terrific sense of freshness, and a great finish. It's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age but will have upwards of three decades of overall longevity.
About the producer
Created by Tim and Marcia Mondavi, Continuum is a Napa project that continues the Mondavi family legacy. Based in Pritchard Hill, this estate winery produces elegant, mineral Cabernet blends from hillside fruit.