Served double blind. Fairly tropical on the nose, this has a generous amount of ripe fruit. Perhaps a little bit of butterscotch on the nose as well. The palate is quite dense and rich, but there's a lot of bitterness on the finish that I don't particularly enjoy. Tropical and rich, and a little heavy-handed; the oak isn't too prominent here. Seems like a Napa chardonnay with about 10 years or so?
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Moderate bricking. Touch of herbal and a hint of dried brown fruit. The palate is a little thin, showing not as much body as I would expect from the nose. There's just a hint of stewiness on the palate as well. Seems to me that this is probably a bit of an older vintage; there's more dried sweet fruit and some leathery notes. Probably something like the late 80s or early 90s. I liked this more initially, but it really fell apart with air. My 9th, group's last.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. This is slightly darker in colour than the preceding 1970. The nose here is also a little herbaceous, but the fruit is more prominent at the same time. There's a pronounced high-toned cedary note on the nose as well. The palate is definitely richer and more powerful than the 1970. Probably a slightly younger and more forward wine. The fruit isn't too prominent either; this has been left with secondary tones. Mostly leather and wood shavings at this point. Fairly resolved, I'm thinking this is also in the late 80s to early 90s. My 6th, group's 9th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Again this has a little bit of bricking. The nose here is a little more high-toned, showing a good bit of fruit. This is even more forward than the other two wines. The fruit here is much riper and is more delineated than the other wines. Seems to be a fairly ripe wine as well. Nice sweetness here, with the fruit showing more freshness than the 1970 or 1980. This seems to be a bit more youthful than the other two; I'm guessing mid-1990s? My 7th, group's 7th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Darker colour, this definitely is one of the younger wines based on appearance alone. Whereas the other bottles didn't display much oak, there is definitely still a little bit here that has yet to integrate. It's definitely not over the top though. Very young on the palate, this still has a little bit of grapeyness to it. The tannins here are definitely far more ornery than the other wines too; there's a good chew to them. Probably something with around 10 years of age on it? My 8th, group's 5th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Another wine that clearly looks young, just based on the colour. This is a little bit more integrated on the nose than the 1992; there's a generous helping of ripe fruit on the nose here. The palate is very ripe, and while there are still plenty of tannins, this is still reasonably accessible. A bit more red-fruited than the 1992, and a little more expressive and delicious, to my palate. Seems to be another younger example; this is probably also around a decade old. My 2nd, group's 1st.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. High notes of menthol on the nose. The nose and palate here seem a little thin and empty. High-toned, with lots of acidity. Seems to be a little bit of a laggard in comparison to the other wines. I think this one is slightly corked. My 11th, group's 10th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. A nascent amount of bricking here. The nose is stunning; a beautiful note of cherry mixed with menthol. The palate is similar to the 1998, but it's a little bit more restrained and less exuberant. There's a good earthiness here, but the fruit isn't as prominent as in the 1998. It's got a little bitterness on the back end as well. The tannins are still a little rough on the edges; I expect this to improve significantly. I guessed that this was something from the mid 1990s? My 3rd, group's 4th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Very intense nose that seems a little different than some of the other wines. Again some red cherry but some plums as well. There's a slight hint of green pepper. The palate is quite young still, with the tannins still too chewy. The driving force in this wine is the acidity though; there's a really nice freshness and lift that many of the other wines don't have. There's also a little bit of cough syrup here that seems a little hot. My guess, based on the fruit profile, would be that this is around the early 2000s. My 4th, group's 2nd.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. A fairly middle-of-the-road example, with a somewhat more dilute palate. The fruit still strikes me as mostly primary, showing a bit of tart plums and cherries. The tannins are in the midst of being resolved; this is a fairly light example. Seems a bit tart, overall, perhaps something like 15 years old? My 5th, group's 6th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Both the colour and nose indicate that this is a younger wine, with darker fruit aromatics and just a little bit of oak still showing. A little cedary, with fruit that is deeper and darker than many of the others. For the first time, there's also a little bit of vanilla that pops up. On the palate, this is almost certainly a younger example, with its more luscious fruit and ever-so-slightly modern elements. It's certainly not over the top, and this may be suffering from youth more than anything. My 10th, group's 11th.
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Based on the nose, this is probably a middle-aged bottle of this wine. There's a very nice nose with some darker fruit here as well as a little bit of cherry cough syrup. Riper on the palate as well, this has a nice density without being overripe, and there's a really nice amount of acidity too. This seems to hit most of the checkboxes, and although it's not the most profound, there's a cool ripeness to this wine that I love. The potency here makes me think that this is from the mid-1990s. My 1st, group's 3rd.
Served double blind. From half-bottle. Really dark; there's almost a slightly disgusting brownness to the colour here. The nose and palate remind me of a straw wine; it's very thick and syrupy, and the botrytis here doesn't seem to be particularly pronounced. Supposedly, this is riesling, if so, where's the acid?
Served double blind. From half bottle. An incredible bottle of sweet riesling; I've always loved what California could do with those old Johannisberg cuttings. This is a goopy and disgusting motor oil colour, but who cares about that? Essentially this tastes like one of those super old BAs or TBAs. Great depth of flavour, tons of botrytis, sweetness, and complexity, with a huge hit of acidity to boot. Wow.
2013 Robert Mondavi Winery Fumé Blanc 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served double blind. Fairly tropical on the nose, this has a generous amount of ripe fruit. Perhaps a little bit of butterscotch on the nose as well. The palate is quite dense and rich, but there's a lot of bitterness on the finish that I don't particularly enjoy. Tropical and rich, and a little heavy-handed; the oak isn't too prominent here. Seems like a Napa chardonnay with about 10 years or so?
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1970 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Unfined Napa Valley 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Moderate bricking. Touch of herbal and a hint of dried brown fruit. The palate is a little thin, showing not as much body as I would expect from the nose. There's just a hint of stewiness on the palate as well. Seems to me that this is probably a bit of an older vintage; there's more dried sweet fruit and some leathery notes. Probably something like the late 80s or early 90s. I liked this more initially, but it really fell apart with air. My 9th, group's last.
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1980 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. This is slightly darker in colour than the preceding 1970. The nose here is also a little herbaceous, but the fruit is more prominent at the same time. There's a pronounced high-toned cedary note on the nose as well. The palate is definitely richer and more powerful than the 1970. Probably a slightly younger and more forward wine. The fruit isn't too prominent either; this has been left with secondary tones. Mostly leather and wood shavings at this point. Fairly resolved, I'm thinking this is also in the late 80s to early 90s. My 6th, group's 9th.
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1978 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Again this has a little bit of bricking. The nose here is a little more high-toned, showing a good bit of fruit. This is even more forward than the other two wines. The fruit here is much riper and is more delineated than the other wines. Seems to be a fairly ripe wine as well. Nice sweetness here, with the fruit showing more freshness than the 1970 or 1980. This seems to be a bit more youthful than the other two; I'm guessing mid-1990s? My 7th, group's 7th.
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1992 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Darker colour, this definitely is one of the younger wines based on appearance alone. Whereas the other bottles didn't display much oak, there is definitely still a little bit here that has yet to integrate. It's definitely not over the top though. Very young on the palate, this still has a little bit of grapeyness to it. The tannins here are definitely far more ornery than the other wines too; there's a good chew to them. Probably something with around 10 years of age on it? My 8th, group's 5th.
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1998 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Another wine that clearly looks young, just based on the colour. This is a little bit more integrated on the nose than the 1992; there's a generous helping of ripe fruit on the nose here. The palate is very ripe, and while there are still plenty of tannins, this is still reasonably accessible. A bit more red-fruited than the 1992, and a little more expressive and delicious, to my palate. Seems to be another younger example; this is probably also around a decade old. My 2nd, group's 1st.
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1973 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. High notes of menthol on the nose. The nose and palate here seem a little thin and empty. High-toned, with lots of acidity. Seems to be a little bit of a laggard in comparison to the other wines. I think this one is slightly corked. My 11th, group's 10th.
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1986 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. A nascent amount of bricking here. The nose is stunning; a beautiful note of cherry mixed with menthol. The palate is similar to the 1998, but it's a little bit more restrained and less exuberant. There's a good earthiness here, but the fruit isn't as prominent as in the 1998. It's got a little bitterness on the back end as well. The tannins are still a little rough on the edges; I expect this to improve significantly. I guessed that this was something from the mid 1990s? My 3rd, group's 4th.
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1990 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Very intense nose that seems a little different than some of the other wines. Again some red cherry but some plums as well. There's a slight hint of green pepper. The palate is quite young still, with the tannins still too chewy. The driving force in this wine is the acidity though; there's a really nice freshness and lift that many of the other wines don't have. There's also a little bit of cough syrup here that seems a little hot. My guess, based on the fruit profile, would be that this is around the early 2000s. My 4th, group's 2nd.
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1992 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. A fairly middle-of-the-road example, with a somewhat more dilute palate. The fruit still strikes me as mostly primary, showing a bit of tart plums and cherries. The tannins are in the midst of being resolved; this is a fairly light example. Seems a bit tart, overall, perhaps something like 15 years old? My 5th, group's 6th.
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1982 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Both the colour and nose indicate that this is a younger wine, with darker fruit aromatics and just a little bit of oak still showing. A little cedary, with fruit that is deeper and darker than many of the others. For the first time, there's also a little bit of vanilla that pops up. On the palate, this is almost certainly a younger example, with its more luscious fruit and ever-so-slightly modern elements. It's certainly not over the top, and this may be suffering from youth more than anything. My 10th, group's 11th.
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1996 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Corked. My 12th, group's 8th.
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1989 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served blind in a Mondavi lineup. Based on the nose, this is probably a middle-aged bottle of this wine. There's a very nice nose with some darker fruit here as well as a little bit of cherry cough syrup. Riper on the palate as well, this has a nice density without being overripe, and there's a really nice amount of acidity too. This seems to hit most of the checkboxes, and although it's not the most profound, there's a cool ripeness to this wine that I love. The potency here makes me think that this is from the mid-1990s. My 1st, group's 3rd.
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2000 Arrowood Riesling Special Select Late Harvest Hoot Owl Creek 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Served double blind. From half-bottle. Really dark; there's almost a slightly disgusting brownness to the colour here. The nose and palate remind me of a straw wine; it's very thick and syrupy, and the botrytis here doesn't seem to be particularly pronounced. Supposedly, this is riesling, if so, where's the acid?
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1982 Freemark Abbey Johannisberg Riesling Edelwein Gold 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served double blind. From half bottle. An incredible bottle of sweet riesling; I've always loved what California could do with those old Johannisberg cuttings. This is a goopy and disgusting motor oil colour, but who cares about that? Essentially this tastes like one of those super old BAs or TBAs. Great depth of flavour, tons of botrytis, sweetness, and complexity, with a huge hit of acidity to boot. Wow.
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