a different 96....

[AKR]

Yesterday we popped a 1996 Mondavi merlot [Napa] for Taco Tuesday. Most people probably wouldn't save these for so long; these are a notch above their fighting varietal lineup but still generally are grocery store wines widely available in the $15-$25 zone. They changed to a flanged bottle and recycled paper label back then, along with a bees wax covered cork, and no foil capsule -- the bottle is slightly odd looking. Medium bodied, ruby colored, slight sediment, seems lighter than the stated 13.5% abv. Surprisingly good fruit, and not much of the earthy notes or forest flavors that older St Emilions might show. It drank surprisingly well, and the SO enjoyed a good share. Not dissimilar from a petit chateaux 1995 right bank I would think. This was during the merlot crazed era, nowadays I don't think there is as much vineyard land devoted to that grape. But it has stood the test of time reasonably well. It did start to fade after a few hours, but all in all pretty good. If it had been served blind in a lineup of comparable bdx, the only giveaway might have been the more clenched nose. I'd give it a B. It's been a long time since I've really kept any Mondavi estate wines around, maybe the 96,97,and 01's vintages were the last ones.

[winodiver]

I agree on this wine. I've had it within the last year and was very pleasantly surprised, noting some similarities to Bordeaux as well. I have had the 94 recently, which was enjoyable, if a tad less interesting than the 96. I also have a few bottles of some other mid-90s Mondavis, including three of the regular Napa cabs and two of their Napa Zins. The latter have been the real surprise to me. They were always big fruity wines at around 15% abv, and I never expected them to age well, but they have developed beautifully and are drinking great now. While we are on the subject of mid-90s supermarket cabs, the 94 Sterling cab is also shockingly good for what it was--a $14 bottle at the time.

[AKR]

There's part of me that thinks Sterling was owned by Pepsi back then, who knows a thing or two about stocking up mass market shelves with the whole product lineup.

[winodiver]

I think it was Coca Cola that bought it in the 80s; by the 90s it was owned by Seagrams.

[AKR]

Aha age seems to be giving me dismembermemory problems!