Charles Krug Family Reserve Generations 2018
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Wilfred
Wong -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
Generations is a Bordeaux-style blend created to honor our family's past, present, and future. The fruit is night-picked from our estate vineyards and aged in new French oak barrels. Aromas of berries and pomegranate dominate with notes of tobacco, bay leaf, and dark chocolate. This wine is full-bodied with a firm, somewhat buttery texture; it entices with flavors of mixed berries, vanilla, and toasty oak.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Charles Krug Family Reserve Generations Red Wine explodes with formidable and lasting strength on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of black fruit and oak. Pair it with a grilled Porterhouse topped with diced shallots and a side of Roquefort. (Tasted: February 3, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A fragrant nose of blackberries, blueberries, dried thyme and cigar box. Full body with plush tannins. Round and creamy with a velvety texture. Chocolate and dark fruit at the finish. Really attractive, clear fruit at the end. Currants and black cherries. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Spectator
This has showy and tasty fruit, with bright waves of cassis, boysenberry pâte de fruit and anise rolling through. Juicy through the finish with a subtle graphite edge for balance. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deliberately crafted in an age-worthy style, the 2018 Family Reserve Generations Red Wine is tart, tight and tannic. Scents of black cherries, cassis, earth and clove emerge only reticently on the nose, and the full-bodied palate isn't much more generous at this juncture. But the tannins are ripe, the fruit is concentrated, the oak is nicely balanced, and the mouthwatering finish lingers. Promising stuff. Rating: 91+
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In 1861, Charles Krug, the visionary father of Napa Valley winemaking, established the winery that started it all. In 1943, Cesare and Rosa Mondavi purchased this iconic estate and continued to build on its reputation for innovation and uncompromising quality. Their son, Peter Mondavi Sr., carried on this tradition remaining active in the winery until his passing in 2016 at the age of 101.
Today his two sons–Peter Jr. and Marc–steward the family business as co-proprietors intent on building a lasting legacy for their children and those generations still to come. 2018 marked the 75th Anniversary of four generations of Mondavi Family ownership of Charles Krug.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.