The Middle Mondavi

Fine wine is not always solely the product of some little ol’ winemaker; sometimes it’s the work of the marketing department. A new line of wines that appears to be just that will hit store shelves within days.

The Robert Mondavi Winery, which bought the Vichon winery some years ago, has made 40,000 cases of 1991 Chardonnay and 10,000 cases of 1989 Cabernet, which they call the Vichon Coastal Selections. They sell for no more than $10 each (with discounts, they’ll be $8 in many locations).

While this would be quite a substantial amount of wine for a first release from any other winery, Mondavi marketing people say privately that it won’t be nearly enough wine. Plans are being made to expand production beginning with this harvest.

The story behind these wines begins nearly a decade ago when the late Bruno Benziger, owner of Glen Ellen Winery, decided Chardonnay (and--only incidentally--Cabernet) could be made more cheaply than they had been, in order to appeal to people who say they like great wine but really like simple wine. The Glen Ellen Proprietor’s Reserve wines, which sold for $5 a bottle (often discounted to around $3) included a slightly sweet Chardonnay and a soft Cabernet made more like jug wine than something you’d lay away in the cellar.

The public was smitten; the line was hugely successful. Soon dozens of wineries were fighting to get into that segment of the business, which came to be called pop-premium or fighting varietal.

Mondavi developed a lower-priced line of wines at its then-new Woodbridge winery in Lodi. The Sauvignon Blanc and the Cabernet--”Bob White” and “Bob Red,” as they were called in-house--were a big success, which led to other wines at Woodbridge, pushing production at that facility to more than 2 million cases annually.

Move forward to 1986: Winemaker Jed Steele at the small Kendall-Jackson Winery in Lakeport in Lake County developed a method for making Chardonnay slightly sweet, yet using fine-wine techniques that give the wine more richness and body and a better aroma than most pop-premium wines.

Calling his wine “Vintner’s Reserve,” K-J owner Jess Jackson sold the wine for a little more than the Glen Ellen and competing wines. It wasn’t cheap, selling for $9.50 a bottle, but deep discounts brought it down to $5.99 in some places--not much more than a pop-premium wine at full price. Today, Kendall-Jackson makes a half million cases of barrel-fermented Chardonnay, selling it for $11, with discounted prices reaching $6.99. It’s one of the most successful wines in the country.

It is this line that the Robert Mondavi Winery is challenging with Vichon, having waited until it felt the public was ready for an $8 to $10 wine of this quality. It also makes sense for Mondavi because, without confusing the public with a third Mondavi label, it fills a void at the $10 price point, where a huge amount of wine is sold (Mondavi has the Woodbridge wines in the $5 price range and Mondavi Napa Valley wine at $17 a bottle, but nothing in between).

Moreover, there isn’t much competition in this category. The No. 2 player in the segment is probably Clos du Bois, which makes superior Chardonnay and Merlot in the $10 price range. Sonoma-Cutrer also offers a top-rate Chardonnay in that price niche.

The new Vichon “Coastal Selection” wines are excellent values. The Chardonnay is rich and textured with wonderful balance, and the Cabernet is loaded with ripe fruit, with toasty notes from oak aging and a softness that will be most appealing to those who drink the wine young.

Mondavi says the Chardonnay is 25% from the Napa Valley and the remainder from Mondavi’s 1,000 acres of vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley in the Central Coast. The Cabernet is a blend of Napa Valley and Paso Robles fruit.

Wine of the Week

1990 Chateau Souverain Merlot ($9.85)-- Over the past three years, winemaker Tom Peterson has been upgrading the wines of this Sonoma County property owned by Nestle of Switzerland. The latest wines, from the 1990 and 1991 vintages, are significantly better than those of the past. This wine is particularly impressive. Made largely from Alexander Valley grapes, the wine is loaded with cherry fruit and toasty notes from French oak-barrel aging. Its soft tannins make it a perfect wine to match with dinner. It will probably age nicely for a couple of years, but Peterson’s gift here is the fruit. The wine, which can be found at less than $8, is a real bargain.