1991 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve- USA, California, Napa Valley (11/3/2014)
I really can’t remember a more perfect Cali Cab than this one. Drinking a wine like this, you have to wonder why did the guy sell it??? Did he pass on, did he stop drinking? Be interesting to know as this wine is probably my wow wine of 2014. Think the Alc was 13.5%. Not my btl but I lapped up every drop Kevin would share with me. Still a youthful dark motor oil in center with pretty crimson edges. Incredible BDX nose of tobacco, lead pencil, spice and dark berries. The palate was so supple and yet vibrant at the same time with Grand Cru intensity and length. Dark raspberry, minerality, tobacco and cedar flavors but endless depth beyond that. In such a perfect place and this btl could last easily another 3-5. I love how focused the structure is and yet delivered on velvety smooth frame. I thought this btl, being a '91 reserve from Mondavi, would have great potential but this just blew me away. Made my '04 Cerbaiona BDM pale in comparison. This is why we hunt high and low for great wine. An amazingly pristine btl recently acquired but the source is sold out. (100 pts.)
From last weekend -
1996 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (USA, California, Napa Valley)
Nearly perfect on this night. Very faint, soft fruit and plenty of earth and spice - so elegant. Well worth the wait.
I had/have the 91 of this wine in my cellar and disappeared from the location noted in cellar tracker - either someone got to it before I could or its still in there somewhere. After reading this note I might start digging a little deeper.
Back in the day, when they had that big library release collection of the 90s & 00s vintages, I had the chance to do the vertical several times, and what stood out for me was the 1995 - Tim Mondavi’s AFWE masterpiece - huge acid, bright, alive, penetrating, multilayered, everything the AFWE claim they want in a red.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum, I also had the chance to taste the 1978 from magnum, circa 2008, when it was about 30 years old, and it was all about big opulent liquid chocolate [not to be confused with chocolate milkshake] which was just beginning to show secondary notes. In a cool cellar, in magnum, I’d guess that the 1978 will start to hit peak stride no earlier than 2028.