Mount Eden Vineyards

Tasting Notes

Release Date: Spring 1995

I’ve always thought of Mount Eden Cabernet as a kind of California-Bordeaux hybrid. California-like in the consistent high ripeness which is reflective of our Mediterranean seasons; Bordeaux –like in the coolness of our vineyard sites, high in a mountain range hugging the frigid Pacific. California-like in our reliance on new oak barrels and an emphasis on cleanliness in the cellar and the wine; Bordeaux –like in the austerity of our soils leading to a more soil-influenced wine of earthy and mineral character.

Overall, 1992 was a long cool growing season which produced an outstanding Cabernet vintage. Being a late variety, Cabernet requires a beautiful September, i.e. moderate days and cool night to ripen it fully. 1992 was such a year.

Lively, with an intriguing mélange of black fruits in the nose this wine exhibits forceful black cherry and toasty oak flavors. The vines were then in their twelfth year and appear to be yielding a deeper and more complex wine. The structure and balance of this vintage suggests an aging potential of ten years plus.