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Truth be told, people who are many standard deviations above average in their ability to taste - they’re called “Super Tasters” - can’t even put wine in their mouths at all, because wine tastes so foul to them.
They tend to survive on very bland foods, which taste like mashed potatoes or Zweibach baby biscuits.
And the Flavor-Flav crowd, which posts on the internet, uniformly DESPISES young Togni, because all those green/stemmy/vegetal chemicals are repugnant to them.
It’s actually a serious problem for winemakers these days, who are trying to craft a wine which is ageworthy but which won’t be inundated by internet [& commercial] criticism of the wine’s unripeness & backwardsness & obstinacy.
Personally, I suspect that my ability to taste a wine is akin to a tone-deaf person’s ability to judge a song on the radio - the tone-deaf fellow knows that he enjoys a song, but he could never summon the vocabulary necessary to describe WHY he enjoys the song.
Everybody’s throwing in the towel now.
I suppose they must feel they’re leaving too much money on the table if they adhere to their principles.
It would be nice if wineries could offer a two-tier approach - maybe 90% to 95% of the juice could be harvested & vinified & labelled for the Flavor-Flav crowd, and the other 5% to 10% could be harvested & vinified & labelled for people who actually take Cabernet seriously.
But I suppose that would be too much work and too much overhead for the precious Bottom Line.
Lots, if not most, Napa Cab producers do this with their single vineyard Cabs and their Napa Valley Cabs. Anderson’s Conn Valley has several higher end Cabs in Reserve and Signature plus their Napa Valley. Seavey has the Caravina Cabernet which is no slouch but is drinkable sooner. I’ve had 15 y/o Caravina that drinks great. I’ve not had any issues with Seavey’s older wines: '95, '97, '99+. Small sample size for me but all of these have been excellent with no signs of being over the hill.
Truth be told, people who are many standard deviations above average in their ability to taste - they’re called “Super Tasters” - can’t even put wine in their mouths at all, because wine tastes so foul to them.
This is my wife and she likes wine and tastes with extreme precision. The problem is that the taste is more acute, not that it’s necessarily foul. She does prefer food I’d consider bland, mostly because she gets more from it than I do. Her ENT’s have all said there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as she still has a balanced diet. But it would be horrible for me and many other people. But tasting more acutely is quite different from not tasting at all.
Here’s another slightly off-the-wall suggestion - Smith-Madrone. Old school mountain Cabs that go the distance, without breaking the bank.
Beringer PR is one of my favorite casual drinking wines. We’ve been enjoying the '95s and '96s for the last several years but in my opinion, their best days are behind them. the '97 might make his 25yr mark but I think Beringer is hit or miss to make it out to 25yrs enjoyably intact.
Dunn HM
Seavey
Ridge MB
I’ll also suggest you buy a bottle of Lagier-Meredith Syrah to lay down next to whatever cab you pick. It’s obviously not a cab, but I believe this bottle, with 25 years of age on it, will provide as much or more interest and pleasure as/than any of the 25 year old cabs you open. Plus, it’s around $45.
I had a '99 last year and it blew my hair back. Had another ten years in the tank easily. And this bottle had been sitting on a retail store shelf in California for 18 years likely at between 68-74 degrees before I bought it.
-af
A lot of them are successful at it.
It should be good regardless, not something like, spend $150, but hold it for 20+ years then it will be good. Togni deserves all the criticism going that route.
Totally agree. The Smith brothers still make very old school cabs that age very well.
I thought the Smith Brothers made Wild Cherry Cough Drops. 
I mentioned Charles Krug, Mount Veeder, Alexander’s Crown and the top Trinchero bottlings. Don’t know if these are board anathemas or simply completely unknown names to board members, but let me add another recommendation for 25 year California Cab from a another producer never ever mentioned here: Trefethen.
Dan Kravitz
Outpost, Tor, Fait Main, Odette, Arkenstone, Vineyard 7 & 8, Mondavi Reserve
I agree with many listed already. I haven’t seen anyone mention Phelps Insignia or La Jota. I’ve opened bottles from the 90s recently and they were just wonderful. Occasionally you can find Insignia for under $200 and La Jota Howell Mountain Cab is definitely in that price range
It does get mentioned but rarely and I find that to be a shame. I recently had the 2006 Cabernet (not the reserve) and it was showing very well. Only half way to 25 years old but no reason to think it won’t make it. We opened a 2006 EMH at the same time to compare and the Trefethen was much the better that night and the unanimous favorite.
A lot of people have made some great suggestions in previous posts. I would like to throw in Spring Mountain Vineyards Cabernet or Elivette.
Anywhere from $65-89 on wine-searcher for the Cab and $125-159 for the Elivette. You can purchase some older examples for cheap and see how the tastes align with your palate and preferences.
I’d add Hess Mt. Veeder, Krug Howell Mountain, Clos du Val, Forman, and Laurel Glen Estate to the party.
I would be interested to know why you think their best is behind them. More mountain fruit than older vintages? A trend started by Sbragia. In any case we (I?) will see.
91 MB is as good a wine as I have had from California. 
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Strictly based on drinking a lot of them over the last decade. The ‘95 was probably my favorite but the ‘96 was a bit longer lived. Either of them in a large format are probably wonderful but I’ve been looking for the next vintage I want. The ‘97s have just always been odd, the ‘99s are older than the ‘96s so I’m hopping to the ‘01s and ‘02s. Found some menthol/eucalyptus in the ‘02s so I’m leaning that way.
I don’t necessarily agree with a blanket notion that valley floor wines aren’t meant to be aged multiple decades, though clearly mountain estates have lots of great options (including in your price range like Togni, Dunn, Mayacamus, etc). Corison is valley floor and ages quite well (and is very much in OP’s price range). Take your pick of any of the big Oakville names… not in the price range, but many absolutely built for aging. Dominus is super backwards young, etc. Stag’s Leap is in OP’s price range and I’ve had several from the early 90s in the past year that were great – that’s 25+ years. Not sure if their winemaking style has evolved, though…
One big issue is that the price of Napa wines has exploded during what was until a month ago a long bull market (which also coincided with 5 consecutive fantastic vintages – and 18 is supposed to be great too). What used to be very much in your price range might approach $500 now. Heck, at the $200 upper limit, you’re getting close to being able to buy some ~10 year old cult wines like Colgin/Eisele/etc that go for 3x that now.