Dark Matter Limitless Cabernet Sauvignon

FOUR SISTERS. FOUR GENERATIONS. CONTINUING A FAMILY LEGACY. 

Our great-grandparents, Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, purchased Charles Krug Winery shortly after the end of prohibition. It was Cesare and Rosa’s passion, determination, and vision that began to shape Napa Valley as one of California’s premium wine regions. Our grandparents, Peter Sr. and Blanche, took over the winery operations in 1966. After years of research, our grandfather introduced revolutionary winemaking techniques commonly used today, including cold fermentation, cold sterile filtration, and aging wine in French oak barrels - techniques we implement in the winemaking of Dark Matter Wines. Our grandfather worked closely with each of us to continue the legacy of the Mondavi Family until he passed away at the wise age of 101.

Starting at the spry age of 10, each of us – Angelina, Alycia, Riana, and Giovanna – spent our summers learning the family business. A typical summer day for us entailed odd jobs throughout the winery, including schlepping hoses, cleaning tanks, soaking bottles, pulling samples, and running analyses. A family tradition of summer winery jobs alongside our grandfather and father led each of us to love the wine industry. 

Paying respect to the generations before us, we launched Dark Matter Wines in 2005 and purchased Aloft Wines in 2017.  Although Dark Matter Wines is far from traditional, our mission is to create wines with the same passion and devotion as the generations before us.

We are forever grateful to our mentors that have helped to make this project a reality – Our grandfather Peter Mondavi Sr., our Father Marc, our Mother Janice, Kathy Simpson (Alycia’s personal mentor) a marketing guru, and our viticulturist Jim Barbour.

A dear friend and uber talented Sommelier, Amanda McCrossin, had the opportunity to sit down with Angelina to taste and discuss our 2016 Dark Matter Limitless Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is what she had to say:

"At first glance the 2016 Dark Matter presents as simply as a bowl of fresh picked berries on your grandma’s countertop in the early months of summer. But as bright, bouncy blackberries and boysenberries whiz across my palate and bring me back to my days I spent as a kid at my family’s lake house, it’s clear that magic exists beneath the simple veneer. Under the layers of fruit, a sweet underbrush of sage, thistle, and evergreen rises to meet my nose. It is palpable enough to make this California transplant nostalgic for her east coast home.  

Fresh black and blue fruits begin to give way to floral notes. Violets, lavender, roses, and rosemary all come to mind and suddenly, I am back in California again. These notes are complimented with a little anise and a touch of ground espresso bean. There is tension, concentration, and complexity marking the handiwork of a skilled craftsman. Several swirls and sips later, the freshness and that impossible youthful glow won’t quit. Makes me think this wine could incite some jealousy from the likes of a Real Housewife on Bravo. Selfishly, I am enjoying this wine immensely despite the fact that it very clearly wants to rest a little while longer.  

I keep going back to the wine over the course of 2 hours, with each sip unveiling a new, subtle layer. The 2016 presents as a strong, fresh, pure, and precise embodiment of a high-quality mountain vineyard. The tannins, while ferociously present, always allow the fruit to remain the star of this proverbial show. For all its lushness and concentration, the restraint and balance of this wine makes this a perfect embodiment of enjoy now or drink in 20 years. This is everything I want a great Howell Mountain wine to be and it’s clear this wine is in it for the long haul."

150 cases produced