This singe bottle of Grgich Hills Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon1988
surfaced when I was cleaning up. It had been well stored since
release, and the fill was still in the high neck. The cork was very
sound and still was very tight.

The wine likely now is at the peak. It is still extremely dark and you
can not see through it without a strong light. There is only little
evidence of age just around the rim. It is a huge wine with intense
bouquet and taste and with a long finish. Cassis and prune plums are
the main fruits I am reminded of. It is very ripe - nearly overripe.
It reminds me a bit of a dry late harvest Zinfandel in body, but not
in taste. There is still tannin, but it now is rather soft. The wine
likely would be undrinkable for me when young because of the huge
tannin content. There is just enough acid. Fortunately the alcohol
level is about 13 % by volume compared to some of the monster wines of
the 1970s that sometimes had several percent more alcohol. It is not
the monster that the 1974 David Bruce CS was as were some of the
Martin Ray early CSs that not only had plenty of alcohol, but often
too much acid for many tastes. The wine is so intense in taste that it
hides the oak, although my guess is that it was matured in new oak as
were many quality California wines of the era of this wine.