Well, well, well, this is absolutely gorgeous. Dark purple almost to the rim with a nose of dark cherries, a little forest floor and tobacco. A big mouthful of velvety dark fruit and cassis, balancing acidity and a smooth hint of tannin that shows up on a long, long flavorful finish. Not at all over the top, for my taste, but no mistaking this for anything but California Cab. Over the last ten years I have been fortunate enough to develop an appreciation for Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhones, Piemonte, etc. but fun to enjoy an evening with “the one that brought you to the dance”. California cabs are what got me into wine in the first place. One of those wines that make you glad you started that cellar way back when, and had the patience to keep your hands off some of the bottles for a few years. Bought case on release, the only Mondavi I have in my cellar, but sure happy to have 11 more of these beauties. Don’t have enough experience to know if there is any upside to further aging, but so good now I want to enjoy these in the next few years.
We just drank several mags of the '98 Mondavi Cab Reserve, and they were at the perfect drinking window. Beautifully balanced and ready now. Solid wine for ageing year in and year out.
I tried a 97’ Mondavi Reserve CS last year and it could really use a couple more years. I also tried the 99’ Mondavi To Kalon CS and it was really buttoned up at this point, I’d give it 10 more years. I know this is a pricey wine to talk about QPR, but how do you guys feel it fits in with other Napa Cabs in the $100-$125 range (both from a style and quality standpoint)?
I think it is every bit as high quality as any other Napa Cab, because of economies of scale. Because they have the most land, the best grapes, the best equipment, and a bevy of winemakers at their disposal, when they WANT to make a great wine, it’s rather easy for them to do…plus they have endless ways of dumping the juice if it doesn’t turn out as planned.
While it’s not their bread and butter, by any means, it’s great to know that they can so consistently make a great wine.
Agree. There are a lot of “uncool” Napa wines that can be great (see, e.g., Beringer and BV PR, Dunn, even - on the “people don’t get that excited about them” scale -Monte Bello and Dominus).
I think quality wise they stand up to any of the big boys for my palate. Bob created an old world program when he was putting together his winery and hopefully they stay on track with the new ownership. Their cabs, both regular and reserve, hold up in cellar and get better with time.
Paul, I often think the same thing. Non-cool wines from Napa and Sonoma often make for screaming bargains on auction sites. Recently, I’ve had bottles like 1997 Freemark Abbey CS, 2000 Dry Creek Endeavour and 1999 Simi CS that I bought for $15-20 on winebid, and they’re just great wines at a great age to drink now.