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A Tatler exclusive interview with Tim Mondavi, son of legendary Robert Mondavi and winemaker of Continuum Estate, as he shares about his heritage and journey celebrating the 100th harvest of the Mondavi Family.
A few years ago, on assignment in Batanes, I was stranded in an inn with no room to stay due to a storm, staring at an etched wooden sign in the lobby, awaiting my fate. Etched on rustic weathered wood, in the fashion of the generic farmhouse style “live laugh love” décor, was a proclamation so poignant and profound that I’ve carried it with me ever since: “Better not more.”
Short and sweet, the emphatic reminder of quality over quantity, continues to pop up as a recurring theme in my life and in many of the values of the people I encounter. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to sit next to Tim Mondavi, son of the legendary Robert Mondavi and co-founder and winemaker of Continuum Estate. Celebrating the 100th harvest of the Mondavi family, Continuum is the embodiment of a century of perpetuated passion. It is the return to the values of where his father started.
“Long story short, my father’s good name was overused and dissipated the clarity of purpose that we had,” reflects the kind and charming Mondavi, who had been involved for more than thirty years in the company since he was a young boy installing valves into vats. “All of that happened at the end of 2004. We were brokenhearted, the company was taken over. All of a sudden in the first time in our lives, we didn’t have a vine to our name. We were genuinely brokenhearted.”
So what is a winemaker to do without a vineyard? Why, start a new one of course. “The good thing however was we had a bag of money,” Mondavi chuckles. “I have discovered that if you are going to be brokenhearted, it is a whole lot better to have a bag of money than not. Most importantly, if you have a broken heart, you need a new love.”
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This is how Continuum Estate was born. “Continuum is a great name for us because we wanted to carry on the best of what our family has stood for. We had this opportunity after having all these experiences throughout the great wines of the world to figure out where do we go.” Working hand in hand with his sister Marcia, the terroir driven winery takes inspiration from Burgundy and hopes to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the world.
“I love Burgundy,” explains Mondavi. “It talks about the importance of site more articulately, more accurately, than any other wine region in the world. That is because Pinot Noir is a variety that demands the right site, the right soil drainage, the right temperature, the right exposure, all of that, so you have to start with the right site. And then, you have to treat it tenderly at the cellar.”
The highlight of Continuum however is Cabernet, and through his knowledge and expertise, Mondavi approaches Cabernet with the same finesse as he would a Burgundian Pinot. “Cabernet can be roughed up. It grows interestingly in lots of different areas and it can be roughed up in the cellar and it can still have a fairly decent wine. However, I believe that all wines, if you show them love, tenderness and understanding, they just glow. Cabernet does not demand what Pinot Noir demands, it just loves it.”
It's for this reason, despite growing up in Napa Valley, it still took him a long time to find the right location. Located in the East of Napa Valley, high up on the slopes of Pritchard Hill is Sage Mountain Vineyard. With elevations as high as 1600 feet, above the fog line, the vineyard receives enough sunlight while getting the cool breeze from the San Francisco Bay Area. Volcanic, low fertility soils lend a beautiful minerality and sophistication to the vines. The winery explains further: “The struggle to flourish in challenging conditions gives the vines personality, mettle, beauty, and grace. The vines naturally produce small crops of intense, structured, and complex fruit—ideal when the goal is to make world-class wine.”
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For this event, I became acquainted with Continuum’s 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages. Tim had explained to me that 2013 was a unique vintage, exceptionally dry, the beginning of a three-year drought. The warmth and sunshine produced a complex, rich and full-bodied wine with predominantly 66% Cab Sauv, followed by 21% Cab Franc, 9% Petit Verdot, and a touch of Merlot. Classic Bordeaux varietals but at unique blending proportions.
2017 was a much more floral, herbaceous wine, with more minerality. Personally, Mondavi prefers the later vintages which he feels have become much more representative of the wine that he envisions. “The 2018 and 2019 vintages have much more elegance; there is more refinement.” Both vintages are characterized by a significantly larger proportion of Cabernet Franc, which after a recent visit to Niagara’s underrated wine region, I have gained immense respect for. Often playing the supporting role in Bordeaux blends, Cab Franc, under the right tutelage, can stop being the understudy and shine brightly as a star.
The 2019 vintage is particularly special to Tim, as it is the 100th uninterrupted vintage of the Mondavi family since his grandfather, Cesare, started in the wine business in 1919. With the most amount of Cabernet Franc, this unique blend really encapsulates the spirit of the terroir pairing its lush dark fruit with herbaceous notes and an exceptional mineral quality.
Above David Bantly - Continuum Estate Sales Director, Jaime Jalandoni - of Premium Wine Exchange, Tim Mondavi - Continuum Estate's Winemaker, Stephanie Zubiri of Tatler Philippines, and Jojo Madrid of Premium Wine Exchange
David Bantly - Continuum Estate Sales Director, Jaime Jalandoni - of Premium Wine Exchange, Tim Mondavi - Continuum Estate's Winemaker, Stephanie Zubiri of Tatler Philippines, and Jojo Madrid of Premium Wine Exchange
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When asked to describe these vintages as personalities, Mondavi laughs: “Who is the man that has enough sophistication and elegance to be a wine that ages well?” After some pondering, he reverts, “I think Sean Connery is an excellent fit for the 2018 vintage because it’s a little bit stronger but still elegant. While the 2019 which is a smoother, more refined vintage, is perhaps George Clooney with elegance and sophistication.”
This is what I personally love about wine. That even if it was the exact same plot, the exact same vintage and even right down to the bottle… there are so many variables that make each glass unique. Even within each sip, depending on how long it has been decanted, its temperature or what you have eaten, a wine can evolve over a few seconds. It has a life of its own, making each beautiful encounter extraordinarily remarkable.
Mondavi agrees with me, “There are no two places in God’s green earth that are the same. There are no two people that are interpreted that are the same. No two vintages are the same. No two consumers are identical.”
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When asked what his philosophy is about winemaking he reminisces about something his father shared with him: “My father used to say that the greatest wines should have a power of a Pavarotti, and the elegance and tenderness of a baby’s bottle. It speaks exactly to what I was saying. You can have different persons, tenderness and elegance. A gentle giant type of thing.”
He then further expresses that a great wine should be enjoyed in all its states, debunking certain misconceptions: “There is a belief that wine has to be tough or harsh when it is young so that it will be elegant and refined when it’s older. I say that is baloney. I think wine has to have layers. It has to have balance. It has to have elegance. But a great wine should be beautiful at every age. When it is young, more floral, more fruity, simpler but still have layers. As it gets older, it becomes wiser, a little more insisting. A great wine should be balanced in every age just like us.”
You can purchase Continuum and their second growth wine, Novicium, at Premium Wine Exchange. For more information visit:
Stephanie is passionate about travel, food, wine and design but above all, she loves a beautifully crafted sentence with delicious words. You'll often find her indulging in life's little pleasures like enjoying a bath with a good book or playing with her kids. Follow her on IG @stephaniezubiri.
