I led a very enjoyable tasting this evening for an avid group of participants. I will get to a discussion of "aged wines" as promised in my last post in the next few days. Until then, I will leave you with this:
I truly enjoyed 1993 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve this evening. I have to respect a producer that can maintain market share by producing wines of good quality at affordable prices but at the same time is capable of producing profound wines. Yet, Mondavi is hit or miss at the high end for me. Tonight was a hit. The best Mondavi I have tasted was the '78 en magnum (wine #12) about five years ago. At the same time I basically skipped an '87 Reserve Cab about seven years ago (a gift from a client) in favor of an $18 bottle of Jean-Louis Grippat St.-Joseph from the Northern Rhone. I wish Grippat were still alive and making affordable simply yummy wines.
In any case, I don't think the Mondavi was profund, but wow was it good. A nose of dried leaves and earth. A hint of cassis. At its peak. Perfect balance. This wine is a good example of why my personal perferences (which lean toward elegance and balance) lead me more to very good '93's than the more voplutuous '94's. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I do so love a wine in perfect harmony, and the Mondavi did that and more...more later...
I do wish to highlight a few things I refrenced in my tasting tonight and upon which I have previously blogged. There are a few random items that came up during our tasting, so here are the relevant links:
Why don't I like what the experts do?
Because the experts, or at least, I, like balance...
Why do Chardonnays taste differently?
Birth Year Wines
Tapas
I know if you were at my tasting tonight you are curious about Liquid Gold? Here's the extended version...
Liquid Gold
Liquid Gold Part 2
And by the way, I didn't mention this tonight , but Matt Karmer does a great job of explaining most of the California wines one will encounter...
My Pick for the Year's Best Wine Book [2006]
If you participated in my tasting this evening, thank you for a splendid evening. I learned a lot.
About Me
- Alan Uchrinscko
- Following education at the University of Chicago, Alan quickly found a home at New York's Burgundy Wine Company, explaining the complicated world of Burgundy to customers from around the world. He later became Assistant Vice-President of Christie’s North American Wine Department giving him further access to the world’s finest and rarest wines. After returning home to Western Pennsylvania, Alan became sommelier at Mio Kitchen & Wine Bar in Aspinwall to much acclaim and then joined Nemacolin Woodlands Resort as Sommelier at the AAA Five-Daimond, Mobil Five -Star award-winning Lautrec Restaurant. He was quickly promoted to Wine & Spirits Manager for the entire resort and directed the largest wine cellar in the state of Pennsylvania. He has hosted countless tastings and seminars for institutions as varied as the New York Stock Exchange, Columbia University Law School, and Allegheny General Hospital and was described by the New York Times as “…an enthusiastic, plain-spoken fellow who talks about wine the way a Knicks fan talks about basketball…” For the past several years he has been working on a comprehensive guide to the wines of Chablis & the Yonne Valley.
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