Had a tasting of both of these at the winery yesterday.

92: Nice ageing color, still red/purple but certainly lighting up. Lovely elegant nose and lots of elegance on the palate. I had expected harsher tannins but it seemed all to come together. Drink now or in next 5 years would be my guess. It is peaking. It is selling for $175 (ouch) which is not what I would spend.

96: Nice contrast with 92. Still very young in color and nose. very vibrant still. powerful nose and powerful on the palate with nice long finish. tannins still very much around but they donot inhibit drinking now. However the two in my basement are going to stay there for 5 and 10 years. $140.

michiel

I have 1 1997 reserve. Got it as a business gift, so i can't lose. Based on the prices I see for the one I have and yours, I will not buy any more. I just think they are too expensive.

I loved the '96 I had a couple of months back, it may have been the best wine I've had in 2004 so far. It's a great wine with subtle flavors that is wonderful with food.

Michiel,

Nice notes! My impressions of the '96 Mondavi Reserve are posted here.

I bought the bottle last December from a wine store in the Buffalo area for $61, so I think you can probably find it for much less than $140.

Cheers,

Otis

Thanks Otis.
The winery prices, certainly at Mondavi, are substantially 10%+ above retail also for the new releases. It's I guess to get the "wine tourist" and also not to upset the retailer(s). The 99 reserve was $110 whereas in NYC its around $90.

At $61 that was a steal.

michiel

I'm not so sure $61 was a steal as I bought the 96 reserve on release for $59 a bottle. Also picked up some mags for $125. It appears that with the 97 vintage the price went to $100+ a bottle. Too bad.

About 2 years ago, at the duty free shop in Pt Huron, Michigan, crossing over to Sarnia, they were having a sale on wine. $14 each or 2 for $20. They had 14 bottles of the '96 reserve in the rack. Even though I had to pay 95% duty on the CDN$ equivalent of the wine, it was still a pretty good deal. Needless to say, I drop in to the duty free store on each trip to Toronto, hoping to find some similar bargains, but luck has not repeated itself!

Michiel, I haven't noticed any lighteniong up of the color of the 1992. I think it's just now enetring its prime. It's a delicious complex wine.

Just one more sip.