Robert Mondavi 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

*Bottle #7: Robert Mondavi Winery 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

*Price: $40-60, depending... For Erin = Free!

*Running Tab: $86

Napa Valley... Ever heard of it?

I've seen my fling for the week, Robert Mondavi, looking flashing on many restaurants' charged-up reserve wine lists. He's racked up a lot of dough and has wine ratings sky-rocketing so he deserves his big head in the Valley of Wine.

So you can imagine how psyched I was when my roommate brought home this gem for me. He took it from his hotel room and accidentally bought the mini-bottle... He doesn't drink so I reaped the benefits.

The bottle is mostly on backorder and is sought-after by many aficionados. I haven't had a lot of high-roller wines and I pretty sure Robbie classifies as one of them, but this was the best cab I've ever had. 

The bouquet was incredible, I could almost taste the rich, dark berries and black currant with a bit of some coffee (straight espresso maybe?) with a punch of spice. The taste was just as fabulous, offering those exact characters with complex yet submissive but noticeable tannins. It was all-encompassing - this is love.

Robert Mondavi was seductive, powerful, knew just how to caress my tongue and linger in my mouth for minutes after my first swallow. I wanted to propose after our one-night-stand but I thought that was a little too forward. We'll settle with a high score on my lionized seventh wine blog.

Score: 9.5. (There's always something better out there...)