I've always been a big fan of the older Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve bottlings. Indeed it was the '91 that first got me interested in wine. I've recently been enjoying some '77's I purchased within the past two years and a quick poll among some locals suggested there were other fans out there and so we decided to get together and try some older bottles. With the theme set, John Gilman, Mark Golodetz, Izzy Nosnik, Josh Leader and I met at Apiary for an evening of fun and good wine.
The wines showed well. Overall they had plenty of vitality, depth, balance and restraint. There was a DNA that you could clearly see throughout the wines and they were good genes. Alas, the common refrain of the night was "they just don't make 'em like they used to." Given how well these wines show today, one really has to wonder why.
A few non-Mondavi wines to get the evening rolling.
1983 Stony Hill- Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley
Completely oxidized. NR (flawed)
1968 Marchesi di Barolo- Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Izzy served this double blind as he just either bought a bunch, or was about to buy a bunch. I don't remember. I do know the nose was much better than the palate, showing dusty earth, leather and beef with a hint of cocoa. Unfortunately, in the mouth the wine is pretty devoid of fruit, is drying out and is overrun by acidity, some of it volatile. Clearly over the hill and unpleasant, but there was Izzy and Josh swooning about what a great deal it was for $35. No way Jose. C.
1995 Domaine l'Aiguelière- Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Rousse - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux
Having recently posted a negative note on this wine, Golodetz brought this as a double blind mystery wine after I had told him the wine really needed air to show itself. Well, Mark had to concede that I was right as the several hours of decanting he gave it ahead of time gave the wine a completely different personality from what he had previously experienced. It's a poster child for Provence with its extremely floral nose of violets, lavender, herb and berry fruit notes. Chunky and rustic on the palate, it shows nice fruit levels, garrigue, meat and a pine needle note. Still plenty of life with this one, but decanting is a must. A-.
1990 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Nicely perfumed with black cherry, herb, dusty earth and cedar aromas. On the palate it shows the vintage's plump, soft and fruit-forward character. Ripe, a bit low acid with similar flavors as aromas. Perfectly enjoyable, albeit not a wine that really grabs and holds your attention. I'd start to drink up as I don't believe it's getting better, but it's not like it's falling off a cliff anytime soon. A-/B+.
1987 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Ahead of the dinner I expected this to be in the running for WOTN. It wasn't, but there are extenuating circumstances. Shortly before the dinner we changed who was going to bring it and so this bottle didn't have a chance to stand up for a day or two before the tasting, nor was it double decanted ahead of time as most of the bottles were. As a result, the wine showed a bit muddled, unfocused and was not particularly integrated. It was certainly the ripest wine of the night and sported a blacker fruit profile with black licorice, cocoa and herb. Lowish acidity with the oak a tad abrasive and the alcohol sticking out just a touch and overall the wine seemed a bit on the ponderous side. That said, I've had much better bottles and had it had time to stand and more time to integrate, I'm sure it would've shown better. A-/B+.
1986 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
This was just lovely and quite Bordeaux-like. It's more herb-driven on the nose and palate than the '90 and ‘87, with redder cherry, plums, cedar and dust. There's a wonderful freshness and depth to the wine that all at the table admired. The oak is nicely integrated, the alcohol levels are in check and the acid levels are elevated, but that's a positive. A real joy to drink. A-.
1978 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
The most closed bottle aromatically, but WOTN on the palate. It shares a similar profile as both the '87 and '71 in that it has more of a black fruit profile and shows cocoa and herb and a touch of tobacco. It's a complete wine with a slightly thicker texture than all but the '87, but is fresh throughout and shows wonderful complexity and depth. The wine picks up a lovely, juicy red currant note on the finish. Drinking wonderfully, but well-stored bottles can certainly be held longer. I see no need to wait, though. A/A-.
1977 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
I had three remarkable bottles from an auction lot over the past couple of years and was hoping this bottle, one of two from a separate lot, would show just as well. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This bottle had a pronounced mint character to it, something previous bottles had not shown. The typical red cherry and cedar character is there, but the fruit isn't as vibrant and overall this bottle lacks the depth, freshness and vitality of those other bottles. A real shame as when this bottle is on, it's stunning. B+/B
1975 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
This bore a lot of resemblance to the '86, though seemed maybe a touch more expansive across the palate and had its edges a little more rounded. It's a beautiful wine that shows a lot of class in its red cherry, herb, cedar and earth profile. It's lively with the acidity making a bit more of an assertive statement on the finish. Gilman seems to think the wine is on the upswing, but while I think it's drinking quite nicely, it's clearly past peak and should be consumed sooner, rather than later, unless you prefer only earth and no fruit in your wine. A-.
1971 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night. I recently picked it up at auction and it showed quite nicely. The fruit is more in the black plum, black cherry realm with the usual cedar and dusty earth dance partners standing by. The fruit is ripe, but not roasted and while the wine has depth, it initially lacked the vibrancy the other wines had shown, with the finish being a bit flat. With some air a menthol note kicked in, but with even more air, a pleasant coffee bean note arose and the back end of the wine picked up and lengthened. My second favorite of the evening. Solid A-.
The wines showed well. Overall they had plenty of vitality, depth, balance and restraint. There was a DNA that you could clearly see throughout the wines and they were good genes. Alas, the common refrain of the night was "they just don't make 'em like they used to." Given how well these wines show today, one really has to wonder why.
A few non-Mondavi wines to get the evening rolling.
1983 Stony Hill- Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley
Completely oxidized. NR (flawed)
1968 Marchesi di Barolo- Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Izzy served this double blind as he just either bought a bunch, or was about to buy a bunch. I don't remember. I do know the nose was much better than the palate, showing dusty earth, leather and beef with a hint of cocoa. Unfortunately, in the mouth the wine is pretty devoid of fruit, is drying out and is overrun by acidity, some of it volatile. Clearly over the hill and unpleasant, but there was Izzy and Josh swooning about what a great deal it was for $35. No way Jose. C.
1995 Domaine l'Aiguelière- Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Rousse - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux
Having recently posted a negative note on this wine, Golodetz brought this as a double blind mystery wine after I had told him the wine really needed air to show itself. Well, Mark had to concede that I was right as the several hours of decanting he gave it ahead of time gave the wine a completely different personality from what he had previously experienced. It's a poster child for Provence with its extremely floral nose of violets, lavender, herb and berry fruit notes. Chunky and rustic on the palate, it shows nice fruit levels, garrigue, meat and a pine needle note. Still plenty of life with this one, but decanting is a must. A-.
1990 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Nicely perfumed with black cherry, herb, dusty earth and cedar aromas. On the palate it shows the vintage's plump, soft and fruit-forward character. Ripe, a bit low acid with similar flavors as aromas. Perfectly enjoyable, albeit not a wine that really grabs and holds your attention. I'd start to drink up as I don't believe it's getting better, but it's not like it's falling off a cliff anytime soon. A-/B+.
1987 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Ahead of the dinner I expected this to be in the running for WOTN. It wasn't, but there are extenuating circumstances. Shortly before the dinner we changed who was going to bring it and so this bottle didn't have a chance to stand up for a day or two before the tasting, nor was it double decanted ahead of time as most of the bottles were. As a result, the wine showed a bit muddled, unfocused and was not particularly integrated. It was certainly the ripest wine of the night and sported a blacker fruit profile with black licorice, cocoa and herb. Lowish acidity with the oak a tad abrasive and the alcohol sticking out just a touch and overall the wine seemed a bit on the ponderous side. That said, I've had much better bottles and had it had time to stand and more time to integrate, I'm sure it would've shown better. A-/B+.
1986 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
This was just lovely and quite Bordeaux-like. It's more herb-driven on the nose and palate than the '90 and ‘87, with redder cherry, plums, cedar and dust. There's a wonderful freshness and depth to the wine that all at the table admired. The oak is nicely integrated, the alcohol levels are in check and the acid levels are elevated, but that's a positive. A real joy to drink. A-.
1978 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
The most closed bottle aromatically, but WOTN on the palate. It shares a similar profile as both the '87 and '71 in that it has more of a black fruit profile and shows cocoa and herb and a touch of tobacco. It's a complete wine with a slightly thicker texture than all but the '87, but is fresh throughout and shows wonderful complexity and depth. The wine picks up a lovely, juicy red currant note on the finish. Drinking wonderfully, but well-stored bottles can certainly be held longer. I see no need to wait, though. A/A-.
1977 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
I had three remarkable bottles from an auction lot over the past couple of years and was hoping this bottle, one of two from a separate lot, would show just as well. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This bottle had a pronounced mint character to it, something previous bottles had not shown. The typical red cherry and cedar character is there, but the fruit isn't as vibrant and overall this bottle lacks the depth, freshness and vitality of those other bottles. A real shame as when this bottle is on, it's stunning. B+/B
1975 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
This bore a lot of resemblance to the '86, though seemed maybe a touch more expansive across the palate and had its edges a little more rounded. It's a beautiful wine that shows a lot of class in its red cherry, herb, cedar and earth profile. It's lively with the acidity making a bit more of an assertive statement on the finish. Gilman seems to think the wine is on the upswing, but while I think it's drinking quite nicely, it's clearly past peak and should be consumed sooner, rather than later, unless you prefer only earth and no fruit in your wine. A-.
1971 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night. I recently picked it up at auction and it showed quite nicely. The fruit is more in the black plum, black cherry realm with the usual cedar and dusty earth dance partners standing by. The fruit is ripe, but not roasted and while the wine has depth, it initially lacked the vibrancy the other wines had shown, with the finish being a bit flat. With some air a menthol note kicked in, but with even more air, a pleasant coffee bean note arose and the back end of the wine picked up and lengthened. My second favorite of the evening. Solid A-.
