1988 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (25) Avg Score: 89.7 points

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  5/2/2021 - biggie wrote: 89 Points

  Fruit/Root Day - Thanks for the heads up JDB’s Cellar. Same problem - top 1/2 cork out - bottom 1/2 disintegrated…. Decanted off of a couple of teaspoons of sediment. Poured mahogany from the bottle into the decanter. Definite mahogany tinged garnet in the glass. Nose of shoe polish, damp earth, over ripe plums, wet leather and a whiff of Volatile Acidity/wet dog/leaf mould. On the palate, the slight VA is there to tingle the tongue but there’s also nice flavours of dark chocolate, plum, cedar, and damp loam. The finish is very pleasant and long with the cedar, plum and chocolate continuing with a light VA back palate/throat impression. Will give it a bit of time to see if some oxygen will improve the nose.
  
  An hour later - VA mitigated by the rise of the fruit but in essence, it’s become a clean, tasty wine that’s just a bit over the hill. Good - actually was probably excellent, but left a bit too long in the cellar unfortunately.
  
  An “Intellectual” wine - not a wine to share except with others that have experience in developed wines.
  
  Two days later - it’s really hanging in there. Very pleasant although the fruit has dropped off a bit. Definitely mature but not over the hill by any means. Just watch out for the cork disintegrating.

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  1/24/2021 - JDB's Cellar Likes this wine: 88 Points

  I was able to pull about 1/2 the cork out before it started to pull apart. No saving the bottom half of the cork, so I pounded it through a fine mesh strainer in to my decanter. The color, while pouring, was a burnt burgundy color. The aromas were plum, and blackberry. It wasn’t as strong of an aroma as the 1992 I enjoyed last week.
  
  My first sip, soon after pouring, had a slight vinegar off taste, but it didn’t last. I let the glass sit, swirling a few times, for about 15-20 minutes. It settled down to a very mild but enjoyable flavor for a Cabernet. I’m used to a much bolder taste from a cab.
  
  Is it past its prime? Yeah. Was 2005 its peak? If so, its been on a gentle decline and is still enjoyable, but not something I would have served to my friends at dinner.

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  12/4/2015 - 321Nomad wrote: 83 Points

  Past its cellar life :-(

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  8/30/2015 - pipegarcia wrote: flawed

  Corked

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  6/5/2014 - 321Nomad wrote: 88 Points

  This wine is past its prime even though I thought it was bordeaux like cellar worthy. It was a bit flat and one dimensional. There was a lot of sediment in the bottle.

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