Stephen Tanzer 92-95 pts

Bright, deep ruby. Very tight nose hints at black licorice, bitter chocolate, menthol and flowers. Wonderfully dense and rich in the mouth, but with a medicinal reserve keeping the wine's fruit under wraps today. A graphite edge and firm tannins from the petit verdot are currently hardening the wine. This still needs more elevage and will likely require a minimum of several years of aging upon release. Hard to assess today but long on potential.

R. Parker's Wine Advocate 94 pts

The 2009 Continuum comes across as much more understated next to the 2008. It has plenty of silkiness and finesse, but less of the size and shape of its older sibling. Dark cherries, espresso, exotic spices and licorice are woven together in a fabric of notable elegance and harmony. The 2009 Continuum is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot, 82% of which came from estate-grown fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. I was super-impressed with the two wines I tasted from Continuum Estate, Tim Mondavi's new venture on Pritchard Hill, not far from Chappellet and Bryant. Mondavi is gradually moving towards 100% estate fruit, but these early vintages include some fruit from vineyards in Oakville and Stags Leap. Continuum is distinguished by a fairly large presence of Cabernet Franc. This is one of the most exciting new properties in Napa Valley.

Crafted by Tim Mondavi.