1998 burgundies -- How are they drinking?

Seven of us gathered at fellow WB Jim Anderson’s home for a spectacular dinner prepared by Jim, coupled with some amazing burgundies. Jim has been wanting to see how the 98’s are progressing, so what better time than now, prior to our return to Arizona.

The evening started with bubbles with some apps, of course. Then on to dinner with a couple of white burgs before getting to the question at hand…how are the 98 reds progressing?

2002 Pierre Gimonnet -Fine mousse. Nice aromas of apples and citrus with hint of brioche. Lovely palate with a brisk refreshing acidity.

1998 Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet ‘Les Demoiselles’ - Unfortunately corked.

1993 Drouhin Corton Charlemagne - Deep yellow-gold. No hint of oxidation. Smoke and some coconut on the nose. Although it’s now starting to lose some of it’s fruit and past it’s prime, it still has very nice texture and acidity and quite enjoyable.

1997 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet ‘Les Vergers’ - Medium yellow. No oxidation. Very precise with very nice fruit, texture and balance. Drinking well.

1998 Gouges ‘Les St Georges’ - We were all all anxious to see how Gouge would fare in a tannic vintage. Surprise, surprise…it was beautiful. Dark core with some bricking. Dark tart cherries, sous bois and tannins, although present, are not at all harsh. Very drinkable and enjoyable.

1998 de Montille Pommard ’ Les Pezerolles’ - Dark. Somewhat rustic with some licorice and sous bois, big tannins. Lacks the depth of the Gouges and not as well put together. Tart finish.

1998 Chevillon ‘Vaucrains’ - corked

1998 Torii Mor ‘Seven Springs Vineyard’ (blind) - What a surprise. Jim threw this in blind with the previous 2 wines. It was made by Jim and Patty while they were at Torii Mor. This is a big wine. Lots of extract, fruit. So well balanced. Great effort that showed quite well against the other wines.

1998 Vogue 1er Cru - Dark. That signature Vogue nose. Cherries, raspberries…maybe a hint of licorice and tar. Beautiful balance and length.

1998 Vogue Bonnes Mares - the previous wine on steroids. This wine is drinking beautifully now. Again the signature nose similar to the 1er cur. Big extract and depth and mid-palate. Long satin finish. This wine is on point, but I think will hold for many years to come. WOTN for me.

1998 Dujac Charmes-Chambertin - Dark. Beautiful complex floral aromas…some stems. Mushroom, sous bois, dark fruits with a very nice soft mouthfeel. After having had the CDLR and CSD within the past year and liking both, Dujac did well in 98.

Then a couple more champagnes with cheese and dessert - Selosse Initial and H Billiot Laetitia. Both rich big style bubbles perfect with the food.

Finally 1999 Clos de Sainte Catherine - Not cloying. Medium weight. Pears and citrus. Good acid. Quite nice.

All in all, a great evening with great food, wine and with great friends. I think we were all impressed how well these wines showed. Perhaps a good vintage to backfill, given current pricing.

Thanks Jim!!

pop and pour? Decant? Slow ox?

PS: Thanks for the notes.

Good to hear, thanks for the notes. I have been a fan of this vintage and have a few nice ones, unfortunately just slow to backfill as I wasn’t buying remotely close to when these were released. If anyone has an update on the Chevillion wines that aren’t corked, I would appreciate it as i am sitting on some '98 Les St. George.

I’ll let Jim comment on when the wines were opened. The only one decanted was the mystery wine…Torii Mor Seven Springs.

Another reminder that I wish I had more 1998’s. Thanks for the notes.

(Edited by 1000 years. LOL)

We had the 1998 Vogue Bonnes Mares alongside the 1998 Dujac Bonnes Mares on Saturday night. Both showing beautifully, although the Dujac in particular could use some more time. But the 1998 Vogue BM was out of this world–powerful, perfumed, ethereal, complex all at once…

Nice drinking Roger!!! Save some powder for when we’re up there in 2.5 weeks ;oP… CHEERS and can’t wait.

why? Have you heard that is going to be a great year? You take futures to a new level.
alan

LOL, don’t be so technical, Alan. I meant 1899, but had a typo…

This made me tear up just a little…

damn, I was hoping to borrow the time machine one of these days . . .
alan

All this great Vogue/Dujac Roger - Are you a Vogue/Dujac slut now also? Just like Rousseau - hehehehe?

1998 Bertheau Chambolle-Musigny “Les Amoureuses”…sublime. Normally, I find Amoureuses overrated vis-a-vis other Chambolle 1ers in terms of the extra premium it demands in the marketplace, but this was really a noticeable step up from the other wonderful Bertheau '98s. That domaine really hit a home run in this vintage; I’ve been thrilled by the 1er tout court and the Charmes as well.

The Gouges and the Chevillon (doh!) were opened abou 5 hours in advance. The Chevillon did not seem corked upon opening to be honest but it certainly was later. The 2 Vogues and the Montille had about 1-2 hours of being opened. The Dujac had maybe 30 minutes and came straight from the cellar. The whites and Champagnes were pop and pours.

The Vogue Bonnes Mares was amazing and the Gouges was a somewhat close second. Thought the '98s showed better and less structured than I expected them to be. Good stuff. I have been a believer that this is an overlooked vintage, perhaps not in the sense 1991 was but there are decent deals and some terrific wines.

They were also quite food friendly. We had them across a broad range of dishes and they really responded to the food. The Drouhin CC ('93 actually) went with a salad of fennel, carrots, radish, parsley and lardons. The Niellon paired super well with lobster rolls. The Gouges, Montille and Torii Mor initially went with tea cured swordfish on black rice risotto with a blood orange sauce. The Vogues and Dujac initially with poached Pekin duck breast wrapped in chard on a bit of creamy polenta with a morel mushroom sauce. The last course was a lamb chop with baby favas and spring potatoes and that was a wine free for all. Good stuff al around. Wines were terrific, company was better. I would suggest those out there to avoid buying '98s. Don’t buy them. We got lucky. It’s a crappy vintage.

Bought 3. I am 2 for 2 on the corked-ness of this wine. Bousselottes has been fine. Vaucrains not so much. Was pissed enough that I went and got the Dujac instead of just replacing the bottle. Dujac did really nail it in '98. Everything I have ever had has been terrific.

Probably the best current drinking from the 90s is from this vintage, one of the most attractive ever to drink at this young age. Recent bottles of Vogue Chambolle village and Amoureuses have been glorious, but among almost countless others I think of Gouges, Montille, Maume, Jadot, Clos de Tart which I do not usually enjoy,Laurent, Lafarge and Clair. I know people who now think it’s a more successful vintage than 99 but I wouldn’t go quite that far. The Wine Advocate’s respective assessment of the 97 and 98 vintages must surely go down as one of the greatest misjudgements in the history of wine.

Thanks Jim for chiming in on the menu. It was truly spectacular. Also, thanks for picking up the typo on the CC vintage…now corrected.

Yeah, I guess. Always have loved those wines. Interestingly, one of the guests nearly brought a Rousseau. That would have been interesting. But then again we might not then have had the Vogue BM…so I think we did just fine.

Anybody tasted the POnsot s 98?