Mondavi Sisters Collection includes the brands, Aloft, Dark Matter and Humble Beginnings and is owned by four Mondavi sisters, Angelina, Alycia, Riana and Giovanna.
Aloft
Looking up the definition for aloft one finds references to “up in, or into the air or overhead”. Appropriately named, the wines are sourced from a single vineyard high on the slopes of Howell Mountain at an elevation of approximately 1650 feet.
Before Aloft was even conceived, founders Marc Mondavi and his wife Janice moved to Howell Mountain in 2001 with the purchase of 20 acres. The land had never been planted to vines – after several years they planted 10 acres entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon and named their vineyard Rocky Ridge. This is a prime vineyard neighborhood; nearby vineyards include one owned by Pine Ridge, the Lucia Abreu Vineyard owned by David Abreu and the historic Bancroft Vineyard with fruit being sold to Beringer.
This is also a very historic part of Napa Valley. Nearby Rancho La Jota was founded in 1843. The first Euro-American permanent settler in the Napa Valley was George C Yount (namesake for Yountville) who moved to the valley in 1836. Mr. Yount was given a 4,454-acre Mexican land grant called Rancho La Jota from then governor of California at the time.
Marc grew up on the Charles Krug Winery property and worked with his father (Peter Mondavi) for decades learning about wine making, vineyard management and the business side of the operations. After years of working at Charles Krug he eventually realized that he might want to branch out on his own (while still remaining very much involved at Krug). Eventually he approached his father about using grapes from their new vineyard for Charles Krug, Peter wasn’t interested, so Marc sold the grapes to other producers for the first several harvests.
However, several years later, Peter changed his mind (not hard to see why it took him a few years to come around to the idea having only worked with valley floor vineyards for decades – and with wines that were produced in much larger quantities). A premium, limited production single vineyard wine from the hillsides was a foreign concept in his mind at the time.
We first heard about Aloft when we interviewed Peter, who was in his late 90s at the time. He had come around to the quality and pedigree of Marc’s hillside wines – calling the Aloft wines ‘outstanding” and was visibly impressed with the results of the early Aloft vintages.
In 2005 Marc and Janice purchased another property on Howell Mountain which has provided the grapes for every vintage of Aloft Wine since their inaugural vintage in 2008. The property is 60 acres of which they planted 24 acres to Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 acre to Petite Verdot. The remainder of their vineyard is a mix of manzanita, pine and various oak trees. Marc named this special piece of land, the Cold Springs Vineyard.
Founding winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown was soon hired; he produced all vintages through 2015. Today Aloft is very much a Mondavi family affair; Angelina took over as the primary winemaker in 2016, Alycia helps with the sales and marketing and Janice, according to her daughter Alycia “is the glue that holds all of this together”.
When looking for a vineyard manager, Jim Barbour was an easy choice for Marc. They both have been friends for decades. Alycia speaks reverently of Jim Barbour along with a select few other Napa based vineyard managers who she says, “can walk an undeveloped site and quickly gauge its vineyard potential and based on location, determine what varieties will grow best”. Jim manages both the Rocky Ridge Vineyard and their Cold Springs Vineyard.
In a unique twist of fate, Charles Krug once owned several parcels of land on Howell Mountain including what is now a neighboring vineyard to their Rocky Ridge Vineyard (owned by Pine Ridge) – and remarkably the land that is now their Cold Springs Vineyard.
In addition to his vineyard duties and work at Charles Krug, Marc occupies some of his free time by ‘water witching’ – which he has done so for decades. He was first introduced to this through the father of a girl he was dating in high school. He refined his craft by going out with old timer and Napa Valley farmer Laurie Wood on the weekends – practicing and visiting a number of properties in the valley. Marc says not everyone can be successful at looking for water in this manner. He told us that one must have the right energy. He estimates he has looked for water on hundreds of properties both in Napa and throughout other parts of California, including on their own properties.
After Marc indicates where to drill for water, the actual drilling of the wells can cost tens of thousands of dollars. If Marc was wrong about where to drill, his career would not have lasted so long. He has the right type of energy for this type of work.
Select Wines, Aloft
The focus of Aloft each year is on one premium wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2019 Aloft Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal; the highly expressive bouquet is initially a brooding union of both ‘moody’ and dark fruits. Give it a little time in the glass, the brooding part will soon dissipate. Its generous aromas include blackberry, dark plum, dark cherry and licorice. And there are additional aromas of old cedar wood, pipe tobacco and a hint of sage. We have been to the Aloft property before, I think you can smell the site in this wine. Clearly more red fruited than dark fruited, on the palate there are flavors of red cherry, currant and cranberry. The savory and acid driven finish features gravelly and tumbled tannins accompanied by a lingering light tart character. Food friendly and versatile in terms of pairing this bottling would make an ideal companion with lighter cuts of meat, perhaps a filet mignon.
The 2012 Aloft Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately intriguing; the bouquet is very well layered and reveals a diversity of aromatics as it opens. Initially notes of spicy ripe black plum show, there are floral nuances (violets) and rich fruit including boysenberry and blackberry. Also hints of dust (Angelina likes to call the soils in this vineyard “moondust” for its fine dusty qualities). Shows a richness of flavor along with excellent acidity and a lingering tartness on the finish framed by slightly dusty tannins. This wine should age very well but also drinks wonderfully 5 years after the vintage date.
Dark Matter
The genesis of Dark Matter came before this brand was even created. For decades the Peter Mondavi Family had farmed vineyards on the valley floor. Then in 2001 Marc and Janice Mondavi (parents of Giovanna, Riana, Alycia and Angelina) acquired 20 acres of undeveloped land on Howell Mountain. They planted 10 acres to Cabernet Sauvignon on land they named the Rocky Ridge Vineyard. Highly sought after Jim Barbour manages this vineyard; he and Marc have been friends for decades. This is in a beautiful part of the appellation with nearby vineyards including one owned by Pine Ridge, Lucia Abreu Vineyard owned by David Abreu and the historic Bancroft Vineyard with grapes being sold to Beringer. Rancho La Jota, also located nearby, is part of an old land grant and dates to 1843.
Several years later in 2005, when Angelina was working for Jayson Woodbridge; they both created a limited production Howell Mountain Zinfandel. 2006 was the first commercial vintage of Dark Matter.
The four sisters own a small two-acre vineyard in rocky volcanic soils on Howell Mountain appropriately called the Four Sisters Vineyard. They acquired it in 2003 from another Napa Zinfandel producer; at that time the vines needed some work. They debated between pulling out the Zinfandel and replanting to Cabernet Sauvignon. Fortunately, they did not do this – rather they spent two years rehabbing the vines before using the grapes themselves. While Howell Mountain is known for Cabernet Sauvignon it is also one of the few spots in Napa Valley known for Zinfandel (along with Calistoga). This tiny vineyard is also one of the few Howell Mountain vineyards still planted 100% to this variety.
Select Wines, Dark Matter
The focus of Dark Matter Wines is exclusively on two extremely limited production wines – a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Zinfandel.
The 2017 Dark Matter Limitless Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain is deep ruby in color; it is immediately open knitted on the bouquet. It offers scents of red chili spice, dried rose petals, dark raspberry, Persian mulberry, red cherry, old cedar box and smoked sage. For reference, we tasted this wine seven years post vintage; its bouquet is still very fresh and lively. Red fruited, on the palate there are flavors of tart cherry, currants and cranberries with some herbal notes including of sage and a hint of dried bay leaf. The firmly gripping and grainy tannins fully coat the palate and out pace the fruit on the juicy and mouth watering finish. This wine is clearly built to age; we would love dipping back into a bottle 10 and 20 years from now. If we were a betting person, we would take the bet that at those ages this bottling would still be beautiful and balanced, with time its gentle caretaker.
The 2011 Dark Matter Limitless Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain offers spice notes on the bouquet with notes of pipe tobacco – it is slightly smoky but certainly shows plenty of fruit. A rounded entry leads to a harmonious palate with superb balance with flavors of raspberry and blackberry. This wine is a classic example of why not to trust those who completely panned the 2011 vintage in the Napa Valley. This is one of the finer wines of this vintage from the Napa Valley that we have tried – in a vintage of wines that seem to have shown best from the eastern hills in Napa Valley including Pritchard Hill and Howell Mountain.
Zinfandel enthusiasts take note; this is one of the most unique Zinfandel’s in all of Napa Valley. Angelina ages the Dark Matter Zinfandel for nearly 4 years in new French oak and then up to 2.5 years aging in bottle before being released. As a result, current releases are often available 5 to 6 years after the vintage date. The 2012 Dark Matter Zinfandel quickly draws one in with its voluptuous like aromas. It shows powerful aromatics including raspberry, brown sugar and white pepper. This wine smells like desert in a glass. Very approachable on the palate with a rounded mouth feel, flavors of cherry with slightly dusty but very well integrated tannins. Superbly balanced.
Humble Beginnings
In 2024, the Mondavi Sisters Collection launched Humble Beginnings with the release of a Sonoma County Burgundian style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The simple label is mostly a ‘shiner’ with a small strip of paper running the length of the top of the bottle. Charles Krug never owned vineyards in Sonoma County, but rather sourced grapes for decades.
The 2023 Humble Beginnings Chardonnay was sourced from the Russian River valley in neighboring Sonoma county. This wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel and did not go through malolactic fermentation. It is light to medium gold in color. The bouquet smells fresh with aromas of key lime, lychee, star Jasmine, pineapple guava and passion fruit. And as the bouquet evolves in the glass, it offers another note of white nectarines and white peaches. In a blind tasting on aromatics alone, we might have chosen this wine as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate there are flavors of pineapple, gooseberry, guava, white nectarines, honeysuckle, pomelo, pear and red delicious apple. This is a clean, crisp, and refreshing take on the variety, not often seen around these parts. A California Chardonnay perfect for seafood. Did we just write that? The answer is a resounding yes.
The 2023 Humble Beginnings Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is pale ruby in color. The bouquet is clearly about the fruit expressed from the variety rather than any earthy or spicy characters. Its aromas include currant, cranberry, raspberry, cherry cola and strawberry accompanied by rhubarb and dried mushrooms. This bouquet smells like the variety. Equally as red fruited on the palate as the bouquet, there are flavors of raspberry, strawberry, currant, cherry cola and tea leaf. Juicy, salivating and crunchy the finish lingers brightly and begs another sip. And then another. And if we had a bottle in front of us rather than an estimated 1.5 ounce pour it would soon be empty. Pair with grilled halibut.
Tastings
Private tastings of Aloft, Dark Matter or Humble Beginnings are by appointment and are held in the Winemakers Den at Brasswood Winery located just north of St. Helena. This private room within the Brasswood Winery complex of buildings is a comfortable place to hang out; an hour can quickly turn into two with good friends and excellent wines. Wines from any of their three brands can be tasted here (these brands are all produced at Brasswood). Formerly the St. Helena Factory Outlets, the property now features a number of tasting rooms, the physical winery, an art gallery and a restaurant and a gourmet deli.
This is a very unique Napa property. It is approximately 50 acres and straddles two sub appellations including Spring Mountain and St. Helena. While no grapes are currently planted on the property for commercial use, they have up to 20 acres to develop in the future. The property also comes with a variety of valuable permits – one being the extremely rare Napa permit to allow weddings on site.
This “campus” if you will, features four tasting rooms including the main tasting room where most walk-in visitors will taste wines), The Winemaker’s Den, an appointment only room across from the main tasting room, the Vintner’s Den just outside of the wine cave and one within the winery.
The property allows a number of their custom crush wineries to host visitors. Guests interested in tasting any of the wines from the Mondavi Sisters Collection can reserve several visit options including a sit-down tasting or a longer experience in which their wines are paired with a several course lunch from Brasswood Bar + Kitchen.
Food is an integral part of the property. Brasswood Bar + Kitchen is a Gastro Pub; the large window behind the bar looks north towards the actual winery facility; you can watch harvest activities on the crush pad during September and October from your bar-stool seat! Their founding chef has Michelin three-star experience; he joined them previously from The Restaurant at Meadowood, also located in St. Helena. The sizable commercial kitchen easily has enough space to accommodate both the restaurant and the cafe’s needs. Weather permitting, guests can eat outside on the patio overlooking the grounds, a great place to see and be seen, inside in the booths or at the bar.
Some of the fresh ingredients used by chef are sourced directly from the property – from a culinary garden growing on the south side of the property.
This experience typically lasts a minimum of 90 minutes up to 2.5 hours for a more leisurely lunch and occurs outside on the Brasswood patio (weather permitting) or inside the restaurant. Aloft wines are poured in between each course.
We always recommend guests coming to Brasswood Estate to arrive early to spend some time browsing the grounds including The Shop at Brasswood + Mercantile. This small store offers a collection of hand selected products from around the globe – it is a unique shopping experience for this part of Napa Valley. Both men and women’s fashion, home décor, artisan jewelry, culinary tools, fine textiles, ceramics, hand-blown glass, specialty cosmetics and even a few electronics are available.
And this shop also contains wines from Brasswood wine partners as well as products from Brasswood Spirits, American whiskey, gin and vodka.
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Sojourn Cellars Connection
In 2020, Angelina acquired Soujourn Cellars (known for their Pinot Noir) with partners who also own the property that was the site of the old Ravenswood Winery. Sojourn Cellars currently maintains a tasting room on the square in Sonoma and will base its operations at the Ravenswood property (18701 Gehricke Road). Angelina also is connected with Harrow Cellars (15 acres of historic Zinfandel vines) and wines from both producers will be made at this winery and will also be available for tastings.
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For more information and to join their allocation list, where the wine is sold in 3-packs, visit: www.aloftwine.com, or www.humblebeginningswines.com or www.darkmatterwines.com
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