Has retained its signature very light silver-gold colour. Nose is quite reticent and understated by Chardonnay standards....light honeysuckle, white clover and white peach. Palate is slightly spritzy and almost white pepper on the tongue before subtle, understated, unsalted butter and lemon creme brulee take over. This has calmed down very substantially since I drank it on release at the winery with Christopher Keys in 2017...somewhat to my surprise because it was a big wine then. Softly and elegantly reverberant and resonant on the finale. Lovely and still very young. Reminds me of Ch. Montelena Napa Chardonnay.

Low neck fill and soaked cork that broke very near the bottom and hence required an unintended decanting for an hour before serving. Light, semi-opaque faded dusky garnet colour. Nose is very lightly perfumed...rose petals and rose water. Palate is immediately "OH, WOW"...so fresh, alive and immediately with an Andy Warhol BAM! inside the back of the head. Beautiful slightly ageing strawberry. This is so resonant and reverberant that it takes you to the sound of an organ in a medieval church nave. Every sip is a BAM! of a baseball bat on the central cortex and that just sends you into contemplative silence. Wow, this is massive and soooo...long. It was amazing how this continued to blossom in the glass over 2 hours and didn't fade an iota. One of my absolute favourite wines of 2020 and narrowly beat an equally impressive Charles Krug Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 1970 we drank after it over Boxing Day roast leg of lamb, French style, and French artisanal cheeses. 96 easy.

What a beautiful wine! For those who don't know the story, the Mondavi family led by Cesare Mondavi , the family scion and lead winemaker, bought this property in the 1950s but his son Robert left in 1965 to set up his eponymous winery (at the age of 53). So this is a late vintage made by his dad.

Distinct semi-opaque unalluring brown colour, remniscent of English 'Worcester Sauce'. Nose is surprisingly alive and vibrant - lots of savoury notes ( including Worcester Sauce), old brown shoes. Palate is unexpectedly fresh, good acidity, alive, lots of Chinese Medicine black herbs, Worscester Sauce, another more common English bottled Brown Sauce and all finished at the back end by semi-rotted plantation wood, still distinct tannin, lambs' blood...then slowly some lovely blackberry fruit emerges out of the loamy mists of an autumnal forest. Oh 'GOSH!'...this has suddenly totally changed into a gorgeous and seductive blackberry fruit and younger oak. Best after 3 hours from pouring...gets very heady and reverberant on the finish...a Lazarus-like experience. It ended up as one of my favourite experiences of 2020, although slightly beaten by the 1961 Giuseppe Contratto Barolo we drank alongside it. Merry Christmas!