1993 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 91.4 points

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  1/28/2024 - jdjjadair Likes this wine: 92 Points

  I agree with the last review so no reason to be repetitive. This wine is a testament to the craftsmanship of Arrowood. Still very pleasant fruit left in this wine and the acids and tannins are very muted at this point. Lots of tertiary undertones that you get to experience as the primary tastes rather than having to search for them in the finish.
  
  One word of warning. The cork on this bottle was nearly rotted through, only the top quarter inch or so was left fully intact. Having said that, the wine exhibited no flaws as a result. If you still have it, don’t deny yourself any longer. Enjoy now.

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  3/6/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Almost 6 months since the last one of these. My score is an average for the overall bottle given the stages it went through. Some bottle variation present with corks. I took no chances and used the Durand on this one to be safe, the other night. The cork was pristine upon inspection. Poured off a nice glass and put a Repour stopper on the bottle and then back into the cellar with it. Immediate nose of sweet cedar, mushrooms, graphite and red fruit. Maybe just a hint of band aid, too? I smelled the cork, it wasn't 'corked'. 4-EP is the main contributor to Brett and 'band aid' smell, and I suppose that is what I found, here. There was no telltale 'barnyard'. The wine itself was dark red fruited, a bit thin, but no real bricking even at 30 years of age and notably beautiful and consistent acidic backbone throughout. Palate followed the nose. I'd rate it an 88-90 then, at best. I took all of 2+ hours to finish the one glass and it changed remarkably in that time. The band aid, blew off about an hour in. More bright red cherry emerged, the acidity remained perfect, the wine became smoother in the mouth and gained some weight with some darker, richer cassis notes and sweeter fruit showing up near the end. At that moment it was a 96. Popped the rest of the bottle last night for the HMCs and we enjoyed it over 2-3 hours before and during dinner. There was a much smaller essence of band aid on the nose and it left more quickly. The wine itself, still took about 2 hours to reach its peak again, maybe one point less, a 95. It was remarkably consistent in that regard. Make no mistake, this is an old wine, with all its tertiary characteristics, (except devoid of bricking), in place. And while each bottle from my auction lot of 6 has been just a tad different, each bottle had been very consistent in its own right. That's remarkable winemaking from Sonoma and Mr. Arrowood some 30 years ago.......
  
  Addendum: this was the first 'old' bottle of wine that I've used the Repour stopper on and it, too, seems to be very consistent in its performance, maintaining the integrity of both young and old wines, alike. At least in the short term. I will continue to utilize them and work on lengthening their time in bottle in the coming months, but this appears to be a wonderful addition to the wine hobby/business. There should never be another glass of a tired open bottle of wine served to a customer in a bar or restaurant, ever again. While marketed to the food/beverage trade for that reason, the Coravin just isn't a practical alternative given the cost and time it takes to serve in that environment. The Repour is just quicker and cheaper to use, especially when bought in bulk which is what the industry would and SHOULD be doing, more so than even the average at home wine drinker.

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  10/31/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points

  2nd bottle of this...pnp'd into a decanter to have with my Domino's meat lovers pizza getting ready for the Phillies eventual WS victory ........but alas, it's a rainout, tonight.
  
  Great from the pnp, this cork not spongy as the last one was, but rather dried out a tad and came out in 2 parts even with an ah-so. Moderate sediment on the bottle, nice dark garnet color still. So smooth right from the get go....settled in better after 1-2 hours just as the last bottle. The nose has a really nice earthy, dirty fall leaves/mushroom notes to it and some wonderful caramel tones, as well. This bottle developed a little more acidic backbone by the second hour and all throughout the bottle, had a tad more of that great caramel note on the nose and the palate. Love when old toasty barrels, vanilla and still good 29 yo fruit comes together......based on how this bottle has held up, I have no worries for my others going a few more years, too. How can you beat this kind of Napa (lol, really from Sonoma) royalty for $35/bottle at auction? If people out there only knew what they were missing......94 pts.
  
  addendum: 13.8% alc....amazing and the longer it's open, a clean, bright red cherry fruit emerges, some of the caramel starts to fade a bit. This bottle moving toward a 95.......

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  12/17/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Cork was 'spongy' saturated about two-thirds of the way up. Removed with an ah-so, no problem. Great from the pnp, but improved nicely over the next hour or two then sat there for another 2 hours or so, before it was gone. A nice blend of red fruit, integrated tannins and acidity, drinking exceptionally well right now. All five BDX varietals included in this one. Caramel on the nose and palate, still a very nice spice/oak/cedar component, still somewhat garnet in the glass, no real bricking yet, but the wine overall is lightening. Normally, I need to have some food with this old a Napa cab, but not necessarily tonight. I doubt ANY Napa cab made today can age this well, or taste this good. 93-94 for this bottle, since I'm a big Arrowood fan, I'm going with the 94. Yes, I have a little bias.

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  2/16/2019 - Oenecnist wrote:

  Bought 6b from local Sam's Club for 20/b 20+ years ago. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. Muted color and nose initially, then rich dark purple, deep fragrance of mature redcurrant, plums, old oak; mouth-filling flavors of mature fruit, excellent mouthfeel. Outstanding! First bottle from this purchase in 10+ years. Served with succulent leg of lamb, creamy mushroom gravy, scalloped potatoes, curried lentils, and fresh broccoli--a very good match. Dinner host and fellow aficionado asked for us all to sign the bottle so he could keep it in his prize collection; added "this is how aged cabernet sauv should taste!" Whose palate can predict this kind of outcome after 20+ years? Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I considered this outstanding when considering quality, age, and price.

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