1992 Gallo N. Sanoma Estate Bottled

[sedhead]

Had this last night with steak as the main course. I bought this bottle about a year and a half ago; this was an impulse buy. I can't resist buying 10 year old cabs. still on shelves at reasonable prices.
The first "whiff" was unappealing when I decanted this wine. I let it sit for about 95 minutes. A clear dark ruby with just a slight tint of brick around the edge. The aroma was predominately of berries and spice and maybe a hint of vanilla.[warning; I make my own vanilla so I smell it every where]
The taste was of fruit, spice and slight oak. Well balanced with very smooth tannins with a fairly long finish of fruit. The high alcohol content[14.2] was evident with the heat you feel on the tongue but that did not distract from the overall flavor.
This Cab. is exactly how I like them with good balance and smooth tannins.
If I had more of this wine, I would drink them up and not take the chance of further aging. I rate this wine as outstanding[WS] and highly recommend it.
A side note on my impulse buying. It usually works only about one out of five times. The reason I took the chance on this was because its physical appearance was good; no bulging cork and a good wine level. I also remembered that I had read that in the late 80's Gallo was tring to upgrade its Cabs.

[This message has been edited by sedhead (edited 12-14-2003).]

[This message has been edited by sedhead (edited 12-14-2003).]

[winoweenie]

Sed-man I did a comprehensive tasting of 92s' from my cellar some time ago and I can assure you this was a great bottling. As stated so many times, provenance is the key to any wine over 5 years. My 92s' were put in the cellar on release. Still have 4 or 5 of these so will open another in a few months. Have no idea how to pull the thread up but know the mighty IK has it on the tip of his mouse.WW

[sedhead]

you are one lucky weenie if you have 4 or 5 of these left. It was just luck on my part to get just one. Mine needed some time to open up. However, I have no idea of the storage history of the bottle I bought. Your wines may have some time left if you stored them upon release.