1974 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (96) Avg Score: 92.7 points

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  5/1/2024 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points

  23x California 1974: Do the legendary 1974s still hold up? The answer is a resounding YES, and not just for one or two top wines, but across the board. These best wines showed incredible complexity, with still vibrant fruit cores perfectly complemented by layers upon layers of tertiary aromas, a fully intact structural frame, stature, poise, and freshness. While many of these wines should continue to age well, I don't expect them to get any better than they are now. The top wines in the tasting were the Mondavi Cabernet and the Phelps Insignia (both 97pts), the Mondavi Reserve and the Mount Eden (both 96pts), and the Ridge Monte Bello (95pts). Many more wines scored in the 90-94 point range. I'm convinced that many wines would have scored even higher in a different tasting setting, where you can follow the wine over the course of an evening. Only 5 of the 24 bottles showed signs of weakness, with 1 of those already oxidized, but given the substance that could be tasted underneath, this is more likely due to weak corks or poor storage than anything nature delivered this year. All the wines had very good fill levels and had been quickly double decanted before tasting to remove the sediment.
  
  TN: This wine captivates with a vibrant nose of graphite, blue and dark red fruits, initially hinting at TCA which quickly dissipates. On the palate, it's powerful yet supremely elegant, seamlessly integrating layers of blue and dark red fruits with graphite and subtle herbal touches. Early signs of leather and tobacco lurk in the background, promising future complexity. With time in the glass, it unfurls, becoming increasingly open and complex. A tight contest with the regular Mondavi Cabernet (rated 97pts), which appears more developed, hence more complex, and to me slightly superior, though others favor this Reserve for its impressive structure and future potential.

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  2/18/2024 - BradE wrote:

  This was in perfect shape and drank well.

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  2/2/2024 - G_H wrote: 96 Points

  A 1974 Napa Retrospective (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zürich): While the regular mondavi was showing well right out of the bottle, this needed 10 minutes or so in the glass to come to life. Red berries, some dried herbs, black tea, eucalyptus and mint. Love this style!

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  7/16/2023 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:

  This bottle had been standing up for several weeks, but the decision to drink was last minute, so just decanted off sediment and consumed over a couple of hours. Far less eucalyptus than our last bottle a year ago, which for me is a good thing, still plenty of mature black fruit, crushed leaves, and sun warmed leather. The texture was slightly dusty, despite being perfectly clean of all sediment - just a function of age, not preparation. Perhaps a little more mature than ideal, but still showing lots of energy and with a fully intact frame. We've had a lot of these other the years, and, while they are not as strong as a few years ago, it's a testament to the golden age of California wine that these are still so beautiful at nearly 50.

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  3/26/2023 - vindictive wrote:

  Still going strong Needs a few hours decanting Beautiful California wine from the golden age

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