Good Morning Gentle Readers,
My buddy Bill suggested celebrating the end of tax season with a good wine, so I rummaged around in my office wine fridge and surfaced with a bottle of Mondavi Reserve. Y'all might remember those odd looking, flat top wine bottles Mondavi used in that era. Yes, the ones that often didn't cooperate with the corkscrew.
I invariably forget that old corks need TLC and do not do well with leverpull type of corkscrew. Last night was no exception, but the cork pulled cleanly. It was dark and wet, always a good sign.
The wine was a little too cold and probably could have benefited from a vigorous go round in the decanter. I let it sit for a while. This Cabernet is full bodied and a dull brick color in the glass. Initially, I was, well, this is good, but it isn't as good as I expected. Half way through the first glass it began to really open up and by glass number two, it was pretty dang bueno.
It is a typical Bordeaux-style, California Cabernert, which is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It was dry and mellow with a long, pleasant finish. I liked it and I bet you would too.
If you buy it today, the price range is $70.00 to around $140.00. TWC prolly picked this up around 9/11 for maybe $15.00-$18.00. It pays to buy a decent to good bottle now and again and put it away for later. Most big red wines improve with age, and this was no exception.
Oh, and Happy Day After Tax Day.....
As Always,
Photo Credit (unless otherwise noted): ©TWC, all rights reserved
