Robert Mondavi’s Grandchildren’s Sentium Sauvignon Blanc Is Stellar

When four of Robert and Marjorie Mondavi’s grandchildren set out to create a new Sauvignon Blanc, they kept their focus on 1960s-era Fumé Blanc, the style made by their grandfather that helped put Napa Valley on the map. While American wine drinkers were still enamored with sweet white domestic wines, the OG Mondavis created crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc and gave it a name reminiscent of that used in the variety’s home in the Loire Valley, Pouilly Fumé. The newly released Sentium 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is a mouthwatering tribute to the early days of refined California Sauvignon Blanc made by one of the U.S. wine industry’s founding families. Sentium’s nuance and complexity places it among the realm of the finest white wines in the world.

Sentium is a fourth-generation endeavor led by siblings Chiara, Carissa, and Dante Mondavi, the offspring of Tim Mondavi, and their cousin Brian Mondavi Borger, son of Marcia Mondavi. Tim and Marcia’s father is Robert Mondavi, and this is an extension of the family’s existing collaboration in Continuum Estate, which was established in 2005 after the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery. Winemaking at Sentium is led by Chiara, who describes her role as winegrower and artist; in addition to her duties in the vineyard and cellar, she drew the native California wild iris that graces the bottle’s front label. Chiara is a natural in the role of winemaker, having worked alongside her father at both Continuum and Robert Mondavi. She says that while her father Tim serves as an important guide and ongoing supportive resource, her aunt Marcia personifies the spirit of hospitality that they want to carry forward.

That spirit goes back to her great-grandmother Rosa’s cooking, which is said to have inspired Robert Mondavi in his winemaking and his focus on using the best ingredients and striving for natural balance. “Her cooking created a space for family and colleagues to collaborate, celebrate, and connect in deeper ways,” Chiara says, pointing out that the Mondavi women “have played an essential role in building our legacy across generations.”

When the time came for Chiara, her siblings, and her cousin to create their own Sauvignon Blanc, they took her father’s advice and headed north to Mendocino. With a dedication to working with family farmers who possess a passion and philosophy of care and respect for their vineyards while practicing organic, regenerative, or holistic farming of older vines, the Redwood Valley AVA, where many vineyards were planted by 19^th-century Italian immigrants, seemed the perfect fit. During his time at Robert Mondavi, Tim had saved one of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyards in Napa Valley from being pulled out because despite its low yields it created wine with increased “interest, nuance, and depth of character.”

With fond memories of every family meal beginning with a glass of Fumé Blanc, Chiara sought to make a fresh, bright, and mineral-driven wine that could elevate the food it was paired with. Sourced from vines planted at 860 feet between 85 and 50 years ago that benefit from a steady afternoon breeze and cool nighttime temperatures, Sentium 2023 is born from a long and cool ripening period that Chiara tells Robb Report “helped protect the natural vibrancy and life in the fruit, carrying through into the wine.” Made with 99 percent Sauvignon Blanc and 1 percent Sémillon, it was fermented in equal parts stainless steel tank, concrete vats, and large format neutral oak then aged on its lees for 10 months.

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Sentium 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is light to medium straw colored and offers aromas of citrus blossom, wet river rocks, freshly cut parsley, and lemon. It is creamy on entry, offering full mouthfeel, soft edges, and flavors of honeydew melon, grapefruit rind, lemon-lime, and a touch of flint. Vibrant acidity and a hint of sophisticated earthiness linger on the palate. Chiara told us that “Sentium is not just a fourth-generation project, it is a passion project,” and that passion shines through in each sip.