1993 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (88) Avg Score: 91.0 points

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  1/19/2023 - msuwine wrote: 93 Points

  This journey back three decades yields a remarkably well-balanced and delicious wine that, though not as precise as is once might have been, is well worth drinking all the same. Garnet in color and medium in body, the wine offers aromas of dried plum, golden raisin, oregano, and sandalwood. The flavors are more lively, with notes of pomegranate seed, dried strawberry, tobacco, and leather, followed by a dry but rounded finish that shows a trace of crunchiness that evens out with air. Blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 3% Cab Franc. 13.5% alcohol.
  
  These kinds of wines conjure up so much - snapshots of a time gone by (where were you in 1993? I was a freshman in high school who believed in Bill Clinton!); a meditation on the propulsion of time (we rise / and we fall / and we break); a fleeting moment, a walking shadow, signifying something (or nothing). Poetry aside, this solid wine has aged well and holds together - but should be opened soon.
  
  But back to the poetry... no one said it better than Maya in her soliloquy in Sideways (which came out 11 years after this wine): “I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it’s an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I’d opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it’s constantly evolving and gaining complexity.” Amen to all that!

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  7/27/2022 - wmccone54 wrote: 94 Points

  Purchased directly from the winery two years ago. Medium ruby core with garnet edges. Medium bodied. Fully mature; leads with tertiary notes: evaporated perfume, old forest earthiness, dried tobacco , savory mushroom, old cedar plank, followed dried cherries, stewed prunes, and cooked raspberries. Structure provides balance to the very prevalent fruits. Long finish and complemented the grilled steak tips.

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  11/28/2021 - RickyT12 wrote: 85 Points

  PNP First pour amazingly it was still alive. Fig, prune, raisin some hints of barnyard. After the second pour the wine completely fell apart. Significantly fading and no pop on the wine at all. We had a feeling that would be the case. It was nice to have one glass of the wine while it was still drinkable.

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  4/21/2021 - JR1575 Likes this wine: 89 Points

  delicious and holding up well but not as compelling as i expected... fruit fading into complexity

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  2/16/2021 - cknapp wrote: 90 Points

  - Garnet color and aromas of black currant and prune. It's lacking fruit and has flavours of dusty with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - Dried cork despite good cellaring on my part, but able to extricate with my 2 prong cork puller. Mature nose with some dark berry fruit, 30 min decant and then enjoyed with Beef Tenderloin. Very smooth with no appreciable tannins as compared with a 2018 RM Cab Sav at the same time to teach my daughter the differences between a young vs mature Cab.

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