For Mondavi’s Reserve Cabernet, grapes are hand-harvested with three stages of strict sorting: first, on the vine, then by individual clusters, and then again by single berry following de-stemming. The selected grapes go directly into traditional French oak tanks for cold soak, fermentation and extended maceration–a total of 35 days of wine to skin contact–maximizing the extraction of varietal character and complexity while keeping tannins round and supple. The new wine is drained and gently pressed into 100% new French-oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, assuring seamless integration of fruit and oak. The final blends are assembled through repeated tasting trials over twenty months of barrel aging.