1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve
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Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
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The 30th-anniversary bottling. Sweet and scented and fragrant and pretty lean but very fine and appetising. Not unlike a bordeaux 1996. Dusty finish. (JR)
The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve may be no better than the Oakville, but it is made in a slightly different style. The color is opaque purple, and the wine reveals more vanillin, a touch of mint, and plenty of black currant fruit in its moderately intense aromatics. Some of the vintage's dry tannin (from this year's stressed vineyard conditions) is present in the wine's finish. A more stylish, restrained, less exuberant example than the 1996 Oakville, it is an outstanding offering that should be consumed between 2002-2025. Tel. (707) 259-9463 and (800) MONDAVI; Fax (707) 963-1007
About the producer
Robert Mondavi is a name known the world over. The ambitious businessman created his eponymous winery in 1966 to produce world-class wines in Napa, pioneering quality winemaking and becoming a champion for the region.