Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley--Oakville (California) To Kalon Vineyard Fumé Blanc Reserve 2002 ($35):  Some wines wow you at first taste, but others conquer you gradually, until (as it were) you discover that you are in love with someone whom you had always considered just a good friend.  That is my experience with the Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc Reserve.  I always liked and admired the wine, and then, tasting the 2004 vintage at a Napa Valley Vintners seminar two weeks ago, I experienced a moment of truth: it is one of my very favorite white wines.

I want you to know two things about this wine: It is consistently good, year after year, and it ages beautifully.  And another thing: it is a great value, considering the quality and longevity.

The very classy 2004 is still available but only at the winery's tasting room, and the 2003 is sold out, so the winery has re-released the 2002 into the market.  Under normal circumstances you would probably shun a five-year old white wine, but in this case you can have absolute confidence.  I have tasted the Mondavi Fumé Blanc Reserve with as much as ten years of age on it, and it retains its freshness and liveliness.

This wine comes from Mondavi's To Kalon vineyard, situated behind the winery, which slopes downward gently toward Highway 29.  Some of the vines are more than 50 years old and yield as little as three-quarters of a ton per acre, while other parts of the vineyard carry yields up to 4 tons/acre, for an average of less than 2 tons/acre on the wine's Sauvignon Blanc vines (in other words, a small yield).  Some of the wine is Semillon, but the percentage varies; it was 15% in 2004, but this 2002 has 24% Semillon.  The winemaking is Burgundian: whole cluster pressing, barrel fermentation (20% new oak), nine months in barrel with lees stirring, and bottling without filtration.

You have probably tasted barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blancs in which the oak dominates in such a way that you think you're tasting Chardonnay.  Not so here.  The fresh, green citrus and herbal notes of Sauvignon are there right in the first sniff, along with floral and broad mineral notes and, frankly, only the barest smokiness of oak.  Although the aroma is varietally true, it is both subtler and more complex than that of an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc.  In the mouth, the wine has the spiky acidity of Sauvignon Blanc, the creaminess of barrel fermentation and lees aging, and the weight and silkiness of Semillon.  Notes of melon in the mouth join the citrus, herbal, floral and mineral character of the aroma.  The wine is long on the palate and had a rich, fruity finish.

This is a very flavorful wine with substantial weight and yet all the freshness and liveliness you want from Sauvignon Blanc.  Don't relegate this wine to light fish dishes and appetizer courses, as might be the normal wisdom for Sauvignon Blanc wines.  With its particular combination of weight and acidity, it works nicely with high-acid foods such as tomatoes or vinegar, dark flavors such as those in a black olive tapenade, or substantial dishes such as hard cheeses.  I would not hesitiate to drink it with veal piccata, pork or veal roasts, or grilled salmon.  I would not hesitate to drink it, period.

91 Points