2005 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve***

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is in an ideal spot for drinking now. The aromatics are just beginning to show the first signs of development, yet the wine retains striking fruit presence and freshness throughout. Scents of sweet tobacco, menthol, savory herbs, licorice and dried herbs give the wine its sense of completeness. Readers can look forward to another 10-15 years of fine drinking.

(15.1% alcohol; 81% To Kalon): Full ruby-red. Aromas of blueberry and black olive are complemented by a strong spicy element. Quite suave and fine-grained, with nicely integrated acidity energizing and lifting the wine's dark berry flavors. This juicy, imploded wine is still remarkably young but already boasts superb complexity to its flavors of currant, black cherry, cedar and tobacco. Very elegantly styled Cabernet with considerable aging potential--and most impressive today on the firmly tannic, rising finish. Not at all a blockbuster. From a year with long hang time and slow ripening.

This is a beautiful 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from Mondavi. The wine, a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, has a youthful, opaque bluish/purple color and a classic nose of lead pencil shavings, crème de cassis, licorice, and subtle, toasty French oak. Some chocolate also makes an appearance. Approachable, this full-bodied, beautifully concentrated and handsome Cabernet Sauvignon strikes me as one of the superb efforts the Mondavi Winery has produced, and should age effortlessly for another 20+ years. Given the bevy of $200+ Napa Cabernets these days, at $135.00, this is not a best buy, but it’s certainly a compelling price point, given this stunner. Drink it over the next 20 years. P.S. Once again, the vintage’s incredible freshness, vibrancy and precision are well displayed in this wine and, as I have indicated so many times in this horizontal, this is a striking characteristic in the manner the 2005s have evolved.