Michael Mondavi Family Winery, Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

The grapes for Animo, (“spirit,” in Italian), come from the family’s vineyard atop Atlas Peak.  Michael Mondavi, one of the sons of the late, legendary Robert Mondavi, explains that they chose the name because they felt the wine expressed the spirit of Atlas Peak.  It’s a testimony to his son, Rob, Jr, the winemaker, that the wine does, indeed, reflect the origin of the grapes. Animo is a big, powerful Cabernet, as you’d expect given that the raw material is mountain-grown grapes.  Nevertheless, it also shows elegance and polish.  Though it is a broad shouldered, muscular Cabernet focused on ripe fruit flavors, minerality from the site does peek through.  And for all its power, the tannins, while certainly present, are refined, imparting firmness, not astringency. The 2010 Animo reminds me a bit of the Cabernets made at Mayacamas in the 1970s (wines that developed beautifully with bottle age), except that the Animo’s suave tannins allow you to drink it now with robust cut of beef if your preference runs to big, intense Napa Valley Cabernet that one might refer to as a “steak house” kind of wine.  Otherwise, it’s best left in the cellar for a few years.