Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Robert Mondavi Winery 1986

I had reported on the ’86 Mondavi Reserve a few years back, based on a bottle that was supplied by the winery for a small vertical tasting of the cuvée held here in New York in 2008, and which the notes above on the vintages from the 2000s of the Mondavi Reserve were also taken. Happily, our vertical tasting this past April included a far more vigorous bottle of the ’86 Reserve, which was truly outstanding on both the nose and palate and showed a lot more potential longevity than the bottle that hailed from the winery at the ’08 tasting. The nose on this lovely wine is decidedly old school in its mélange of red and black cherries, Rutherford dust, cigar wrapper, fresh herb tones, a touch of graphite and a lovely base of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and completely à point, with an excellent core of fruit, a fine signature of soil, modest remaining tannins and superb length and grip on the complex and beautifully focused finish. Here there are no issues with uncovered wood tannins on the backend and this very fine wine still has plenty of life ahead of it. High class juice that my last note simply did not do justice! Drink between 2012-2035.