An excellent year for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds. Winter was the wettest on record and was followed by a warm spring and a hot summer. The harvest was disrupted by the storms in mid to late September and this seriously affected the subsequent quality of the whites and especially the Chardonnays.

After the rains, an Indian summer followed and this led to healthy and sound late-ripening varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, being harvested in October. Initially the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines were extremely tannic, yet over the years they have developed marvellously well. The finest examples from Robert Mondavi are still drinking remarkably well and will keep for another 10-20 years.