1970 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Unfined Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 88.6 points

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  11/5/2023 - acyso wrote: 83 Points

  Vinetasters: Old Cabernet (Park Ridge, IL): Served double blind. Cordier funk -- I was certain this was some old vintage of Gruaud Larose. Leathery and lacking fruit, and charmless as old Gruaud is. Structural above all else and definitely not the type of Bordeaux blend I like. My 11th, group's 8th.

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  11/29/2020 - meniscus Likes this wine: 87 Points

  Bottle: Winebid purchase ~10yrs ago. Top shoulder fill with recessed cork. No seepage; cork 2/3s saturated.
  Color: Deep ruby/purple with garnet rim. No browning at all.
  Nose: Rich, mature and complex nose with chocolate, mince pie and pipe tobacco. Cherry preserves and baking spices in the background. No bottle funk at all. Very, very nice.
  Palate: A bit thin and astringent on the palate with a short and slightly bitter finish. Muted flavors of cherries, berries and earth. This was not expected given the nose. Disappointing...
  Overall: For a 50 year old wine, this could have been totally dead. So, while it didn't sing, I give it credit for being alive and drinkable and being enjoyable to nose.

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  2/11/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 Points

  Vinetasters: Robert Mondavi Reserve (1970-1998) (Skokie, IL): 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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  10/18/2014 - fclarity wrote: 92 Points

  From a nice looking bottle with a VTS fill, this wine had a deep red center and light red/orange rims. The cork in this bottle was absolutely perfect, so I doubt you will find one in better shape.
  
  This wine started out exactly like my last bottle, with some black, Nebbiolo notes. However, as it aired it became "redder" with cherries, blackberries, soil, and some brown sugar but it never lost that burnt element.
  
  In the mouth, this wine was medium bodied with rounded tannin and good cut. It had a fine-grained texture that kept building with aeration. It was ripe but yet refined.
  
  This wine is good but has a bit of extra funk in the nose.

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  1/11/2014 - fclarity wrote: 93 Points

  From a bottle with a bottom neck file, I was a bit worried that this wine was exposed to excessively cool temperatures as the cork was recessed.
  
  The wine had a deep red center and orange rims. The medium intensity nose smelled a bit like a nebbiolo with black cherries, tar, roses, and some dirt. However, after 3 hours it cleaned up pretty nicely to focus more on the cherry fruit.
  
  In the mouth, this wine had a lovely rounded texture with light rounded tannin, great richness, and excellent balance. While not wildly complex, it is hard to imagine better mouth texture. Lovely...
  
  I read on a winery flyer that the unfined was the genesis of the reserve program, not the unfiltered. However, the wines are so similar, that I am sure they are interrelated.
  
  I have no way to know if this bottle was harmed previously or not. However, with regard to this particular bottle, it was as good as it will be. Drink over the next 5+ years.

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