Some Bordeaux and 2 Cali's - L'Evangile, Leoville barton, Poyeferre, Gruaud Larose etc

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

Not a bad wine in the bunch.

I was actually a bit surprised at how well the '97 Mondavi was drinking as lots of folks have said that '97 Napa cabs were overrated and have been falling apart early.

The '91 Phelps and the '04 L’Evangile were my two favs of the night.

[ToddFrench]

Nice wines, boys! Great mix, too.

I’ve had several '97 Napa cabs that were falling apart, but none were of the quality of the Mondavi Reserve - perhaps the design of that cab, which is to age, might be beneficial in this case. In a grouping of wines such as those, it is impressive to show that well.

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Todd F r e n c h

Nice wines, boys! Great mix, too.

I’ve had several '97 Napa cabs that were falling apart, but none were of the quality of the Mondavi Reserve - perhaps the design of that cab, which is to age, might be beneficial in this case. In a grouping of wines such as those, it is impressive to show that well.

I would think that the Mondavi has ten more years of life left…easily, if stored properly. I purchased this bottle on release and it has been taken care of very well. One of my first “real” purchases when I got into wine back in the day.

[ToddFrench]

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Todd F r e n c h

Nice wines, boys! Great mix, too.

I’ve had several '97 Napa cabs that were falling apart, but none were of the quality of the Mondavi Reserve - perhaps the design of that cab, which is to age, might be beneficial in this case. In a grouping of wines such as those, it is impressive to show that well.

I would think that the Mondavi has ten more years of life left…easily, if stored properly. I purchased this bottle on release and it has been taken care of very well. One of my first “real” purchases when I got into wine back in the day.

Since you brought it to the gig, would you call it WOTN?

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Todd F r e n c h

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Todd F r e n c h

Nice wines, boys! Great mix, too.

I’ve had several '97 Napa cabs that were falling apart, but none were of the quality of the Mondavi Reserve - perhaps the design of that cab, which is to age, might be beneficial in this case. In a grouping of wines such as those, it is impressive to show that well.

I would think that the Mondavi has ten more years of life left…easily, if stored properly. I purchased this bottle on release and it has been taken care of very well. One of my first “real” purchases when I got into wine back in the day.

Since you brought it to the gig, would you call it WOTN?

Prolly not…it was most definitely the surprise of the night and I liked it…a nice ++.

As for WOTN, if pushed, I would go with the '91 Eisele from Phelps.

[ToddFrench]

@P. Robert

As Dave said - the Phelps really stood out apart from the rest - as in different. I thought it would be a) fun to drink with this group if it showed really well and b) to see if we could pick it out for what it was amid the rest of the lineup.

For me the Phelps was elegant and silky, the L’Evangile was just slutty hedonism in classic pomerol style.
Way too hard for me to even pick a WOTN

Just pick the wine you brought.

[mike.m]

I had a 97 Mondavi Reserve about a month ago with similar results. My bottle fell apart the second day, but was very tasty the first. I’m sure it will hold for a while.

[Dave_Grudzinski]

I’ve had a few '97 cabs this past year and IMHO none were over the hill and some have a long life ahead. Beringer PR, Mondavi Res., La Jota Ann., Oakford Estate, Lewelling Wight, Montelena Estate, Mount Veeder Res., Heitz Trailside…

Maybe there was an awkward phase at some point, but I never got what people were talking about when they said these wines were over the hill.

[pcheck1]

Just when I think that my preference clearly lies with the young, French and slutty, ya’ll have to go and open a couple of hot Napa cougars. I can’t help but agree that there wasn’t a bad wine in the line up. The '91 Phelps Eisele was a real treat and clearly has lots of life left. The '97 Mondavi is a damn solid wine that I think anybody would like to have in the cellar. I’m not sure I could narrow it down to a WOTN, but the '90 Gruaud and '91 Phelps are near the top for me.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Chris_S_p_i_k_e_s]

@Dave Grudzinski

I’ve had a few '97 cabs this past year and IMHO none were over the hill and some have a long life ahead. Beringer PR, Mondavi Res., La Jota Ann., Oakford Estate, Lewelling Wight, Montelena Estate, Mount Veeder Res., Heitz Trailside…

Maybe there was an awkward phase at some point, but I never got what people were talking about when they said these wines were over the hill.

I had a bottle of the 97 Beringer PR recently that I thought was fully mature and I wasn’t sure how long it would stay there. Maybe 10 years, but then again maybe only 1 or 2? I’ll be drinking mine up over the next year or so unless future bottles tell a different tale to my palate.

Glad you guys enjoyed it. I knew I missed a nice event. I did have a glass of something in between bottle feedings…

Chris

[Paul_Jaouen]

So you brought two cooked wines and some leftover you didn’t finish and they still fed you. Good deal!