Named for the opening of Robert Mondavi's To Kalon Cellar in 2000, when the man himself threw a huge "cellar-bration" featuring a commissioned chamber-orchestra piece aptly named "Ode to To Kalon." It was there that Mr. Mondavi leapt to his feet to lead the music. As a tribute to the pioneering Maestro of Napa Valley's success, this wine—a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 2% each of Merlot and Petit Verdot—offers up a meaty nose of deep, dark chocolate-covered strawberries. Flavors of tobacco, soil, slate, tar and olives go long on gritty tannins, and with a wave of the baton, it finishes on a high note of lilacs and caramel-coated coffee bean.

This second vintage of a Bordeaux styled blend made in tribute to founder Robert Mondavi features bold menthol aromas and flavors at this point in its development, and there is a fair amount of new oak evident. That said, there's plenty to like here, both now and for the future...I'm reminded of some of the early offerings from the winery under the maestro's baton - they always came around.