Mondavi Winemaker In Hong Kong

Robert Mondavi is arguably the most important person in the history of North American wine – the only two others I can think of are Thomas Jefferson and Dr. Daniel Norton. What is not unquestionable though is his profound influence over the creation of the past and current wave of popularity of wines from California. He is too credited with the founding of California’s Napa Valley, certainly no mean feat.

One of the first ever interviews I conducted was of his widow, Margrit Mondavi whom I interviewed just months after the death of her husband in May 2008. She is a lovely lady, full of life with a love of wine and art and reminded me very much of my own grandmother. Sadly, the publication I worked for at the time never printed the interview and I have subsequently lost the interview when my last hard drive crashed – otherwise I would have published it myself!

Anyway, on Friday I met up with the Robert Mondavi Winery Director of Winemaking Genevieve Janssens who has been working at the winery since 1978 where she worked in the labs as an oenologist. Mrs. Janssens then went on to become Director of Production at the Opus One winery in 1989 and has held her current position at Mondavi as Director of Winemaking since 1997.

We met up at the Sheraton Hotel’s Japanese Teppenyaki restaurant Unkai where we proceeded to match up Japanese food with some of her most iconic wines and some fantastic vintages. Although the wines sell very well on the Japanese market, this was the first time Mrs. Janssens has paired up her wines with Japanese food so it was set to be an interesting and enlightening experience for all involved.

Kicking off the proceedings we had a nice chilled glass of Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc 2009, a nice refreshing Sauvignon Blanc that really hits the spot as the humidity rises in Hong Kong at this time of the year. It’s great to drink these kinds of wine as they have great minerality (fresh stony flavours) and are a world away from the tropical, overly fruity Sauvignon Blancs from other new world wine producing countries.

Mrs. Janssens spoke to us about how the spirit of Robert Mondavi can still be seen in every glass of wine that comes from the winery as they still make the wine according to the specifics that Mondavi himself set down years before his death. We paired their Chardonnay Reserve 2010 with a sashimi platter of Medium fatty Toro, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail and Salmon Roe. Albeit I am not a sashimi eater I did try the Toro with a dash of soy and Wasabi and thought that were you able to fully appreciate the fish it would make a lovely pairing. I just thought the wine was a delight to drink and I ended up pairing what I had left with the next dish anyway!

The Teppan Foie Gras with Miso paste was quite possibly the best prepared Foie Gras I have ever had and I have to say that the pairing with the Chardonnay rocked, although we were supposed to be pairing it with the Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2009. This wine is highly enjoyable but young. However, with the next few wines being the same wine from different vintages it was great to see the evolution of this wine – the ’09 is wicked, just give it another decade or so to mature.

The 2009 Reserve Cabernet “expresses the vision of Robert Mondavi”, says Genevieve. “It’s soft, gentle and elegant. We want it soft like a baby’s bottom and with the power of the voice of Pavarotti”. Something they have miraculously managed to achieve!

Overall, it turns out that my favourite wine of the day was served next. The Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2000 (served in magnum format). It shows the fantastic evolution of this wine and is addictive as hell! We paired it with a Rougie Duck Breast, caramelized Fuji Apple and Kinome sauce. I am not really sure how to go into describing how good the duck, the wine and the overall pairing was so I won’t – just believe me that if I am lost for words (even rude ones!) then it must have been mind-blowing!

So to the Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1999 which I think more people overall enjoyed than the 2000. It was, in true Mondavi style, elegant and robust at the same time. This was paired with a Colorado Rack of Lamb, prepared Japanese style with Chili and Cod Roe paste and pumpkin. I am glad that I am not a food writer as this lunch would have used all my elegant descriptive words in one story! Let me just assure you that the pairing was immaculate and the lamb was divine!

A Japanese meal is not complete without a little Wagyu beef (I mean the real stuff from Japan, not the ‘wagyu’ from other beef producing countries) and thus, the final course was a delightful Kagoshima Wagyu Beef with sesame sauce. If you’ve ever had real Wagyu then you’ll know how ‘melt-in-the-mouth good’ this beef is. What made this dish even more special was that it was paired with the Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1984 – a wine that was drinking so well for something of that age. Drinking wines that are almost 30 years old from Napa is something special and is a test to the winemaking prowess that they have survived so long and are still drinking so well.

Sometimes when you are drinking wines like the Robert Mondavi Reserve’s you have to put to the back of your mind the stereotypes that come with wines from large production wineries, not just in Napa but around the world. Mondavi, like for example Wolfblass in Australia make some ‘to die for’ wines at the top end which is sometimes forgotten when the mainstay of the market is their entry level wines. If you get the chance to put some of the Robert Mondavi Reserve range in your cellar, be patient as they will be well worth it given a bit of time.

Mondavi wines are available in Hong Kong from Jebsen Fine wines. For more information you can visit their website www.jebsen.com or contact Marco Vazquez on marcovazquez@jebsen.com