TN: Mondavi reserve 74, Cloudview 01, Diamond Cree 00 Volcanic Hill

WINE TALK
1

I went over to my boss’s house for dinner last night and took along a medium shoulder fill 1974 Mondavi Reserve Cab. Figuring that it would be dead, I brought an 01 Cloudview as a back up.

The Mondavi had a slightly low fill and the capsule was sticky showing some seepage. I had little to no hope as I peeled off the capsule. When I got it off, i noticed that the cork was purple the entire way through. It mostly came out in one purple and brown piece, looking like an old cigar. The very end of the cork got pushed into the wine and I got a whiff of tawny port. Yup, oxidized…or was it?

1974 Mondavi Cabernet Reserve - Initially had some varnish, nuttiness, and funk…however that quickly blew off. Dried herbs, twigs, and leaves on the nose with some cassis and licorice. But on the palate, it was absolutely stunning. Smooth as silk, black berry, smoke, and mocha. Still had a touch of tannin on the big finish. WOW!

As we went back to the bottle, the second glass was showing very old. So I thought we had a bottle that was falling apart rapidly. i poured a little more in my glass to see, and it was glorious again. The trick we had for the rest of the night was to only pour out a little bit at a time and drink it rather quickly. Air was killing it, but if you treated it carefully you got a great glass.

Considering how bad this bottle looked, this was a miracle. I’d love to taste a perfect example of this to compare. But, wowsa!

1996 Chimney Rock Napa - Oak, mint, blackberry on the nose. Smells ok, but a mess on the palate. All oak and alcohol a disjointed mess.

2000 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill - Pitch black and tight as nails at first. Opened up over the next hour with roasted meat, some earthy funk, and cassis. It is a big wine with smoke and mineral notes and a huge finish. Showing very well, still tight. But damn tasty.

2001 Cloudview - Showings it’s high Merlot content on the nose with mocha, plum, and blackberry. On the palate it is blueberry and blackberry with lots of minerals. Tight as hell when opened, but started drinking well a few hours later. It was so backwards.

I love the Cloudview wines (I used to sell them) and am eager to try the Continuum from the Mondavi family. In 2008 I believe all the fruit will be coming from this property instead of To Kalon. Cloudview is always good, never amazing, but was a relatively good value for the Pritchard Hill neighborhood. Will be interesting to see what Mondavi does with it, should be great!

2

Thanks for the notes. The 74 Mondavi Reserve was one of the first wines I ever owned.

Bruce

3

thanks mike for the notes. i had a very memorable experience with a 74 mondavi reserve a few years ago - glad to hea it is still drinking well.

4

What do you guys think about more recent vintages of the reserve? I just had the 2001-- believe it or not, they were serving the reserve at a charity golf tournament! I was really psyched to try it but it was kind of a dull wine. Not much fruit, not much nose, just ok-- we tried at least three bottles and all were the same. Direct from the Mondavi cellars I am told.

5

What do you guys think about more recent vintages of the reserve? I just had the 2001-- believe it or not, they were serving the reserve at a charity golf tournament! I was really psyched to try it but it was kind of a dull wine. Not much fruit, not much nose, just ok-- we tried at least three bottles and all were the same. Direct from the Mondavi cellars I am told.[/quote]

mo, i have to say that i don’t really get most of the more recent vintages of this wine. i bought a bunch in various vintages after RM’s death and had the '96 fairly recently - i did not take notes but it was forgettable. i think i liked the 04 better but again, not a memorable wine like that '74 was.

6

From the library release a couple of years ago, the 1995 is a stunning wine - that is, assuming you like clarity, precision, minerality, verve and life in your cabernet [but not if you like big, sloppy, hot, over-oaked fruit bombs].

The rest of them [1991 to the present] are forgettable.

But, then again, in the big scheme of things, most cabernet is forgettable.

7

I haven’t had many of the newer Mondavis, but have always enjoyed them. This was probably the best bottle I’ve had, though admittedly more for the experience of trying it.

I wish I had taken a picture of how bad the bottle looked while I was opening it, I thought it didn’t stand a chance!