Aged Wine Disappointment

[Grape Stuff]

I’ve only been exploring wine seriously for about 2 ½ years now, and I read so much about how mature wines taste so great, yet it’s extremely difficult to drink older wines because:

A) My collection is only 2 ½ years old
B) Restaurant prices are mostly ridiculous for good older vintages
C) Library wines in wine shops are also quite expensive

So I splurged for Valentines Day and bought from my local wine shop a 1992 Woodward Canyon Artist Series #1 Cabernet Sauvignon for $75.00

Granted my expectations were high as I’ve really enjoyed the 99 and 00 release of this wine, and the 92 vintage in Washington that year was good, and I’ve not had a Woodward release I wasn’t satisfied with, and some have been stellar.

The color was very dark red/ruby, but had slight brown touch to it. The body was much lighter than I expected, more like a light Merlot than a Cabernet. There was not much fruit evident at all, a little earthy flavor, it had a lengthy finish, but without much interesting going on to linger around….so what if it’s long.

So I’d like some help understanding what I tasted, as this is by far the oldest wine ever to pass my lips. Was it:

A) Past it’s prime?
B) I’ve read about wines going through a dead or asleep period, could that be it?
C) Not a very good wine to begin with?
D) My expectations are off for what aged wines taste like.

Thanks, any input is really appreciated.