Continuum is yet another page in the Mondavi family legacy, a “5th beginning”. Founded in 2005, it is a partnership between members of the Robert, Marcia and Tim Mondavi families. It is a rededication and refinement of the family’s longstanding commitment to excellence in winemaking. Continuum’s goal is to produce a single wine that is recognized among the finest in the world.

Novicium is so-named for being the ongoing study of the winery’s Sage Mountain Vineyard. This “novitiate” offers a decidedly different glimpse, giving the winegrowers greater freedom to further explore the myriad of elements that give our Sage Mountain Vineyard distinction.

Novicium displays its predecessors’ signature approachability with a fresh and playful nose of red fruit and candied apple mixed with autumn leaves, bay laurel and the slightest hint of dewy spring peonies. A vibrant and direct wine, it has a plush entry and weighted mid palate of dark chocolate, black fruit, brown spice and tapenade. A vintage character both friendly and powerful, with Sage Mountain Vineyard’s iron core and a brightly expressed structure and finish.

“An utterly classic expression of this vintage, the 2021 Novicium comes all from the Sage Mountain Vineyard and is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot. Its saturated purple hue is followed by a gorgeous perfume of cr me de cassis, graphite, violets, and hints of crushed stone. This all carries to a concentrated, full-bodied 2021 with beautiful purity and depth, ripe yet building tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age, but this is a killer bottle of wine!”
96 points, Jeb Dunnuck, December 2023

“Plenty of blackberries, black olives, iron, bark and blackcurrants. Full-bodied, very layered and chewy, with angular tannins that have a lemon zest edge that turns to pine, flowers and hints of spice and cedar. Creamy, supple texture. Bitter citrus at the end. 58% cabernet sauvignon, 39% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. Give this three to four years of bottle age to open. Best after 2026.”
96 points, James Suckling, February 2024