Decanted and poured with the hour - Brick / Purple color. Nose of cherry, tobacco and plum. Taste added light licorice and some gentle herbs. Finish was balanced, and delicious. After the big 1997, the 1998s were like the eye of a hurricane of the 1996-2006ish huge cabs that followed. Enjoyed with some grilled burgers. Terrific!
My observation on many of the 1998 Napa Cabs / Blends. The reserve, high-ends remain really good. Many of the ‘regular’ wines were nice at release - always good with dinner - but were never inspiring. The '98 Mondavi Reserve was great in the early naughts and remains so today.
Awesome note! I found one for a good price last Thanksgiving in small town CO visiting in-laws and also really enjoyed it. Storage was less than optimal (prob sitting on the shelf since release) but it seemed like a drink now kinda wine, as I didn’t see it improving much from there. Thanks again for the note!
Mel - You reminded me about Parker’s lengthy negative critique about Mondavi wines and specifically Tim Mondavi’s winemaking in his Wine Buyer’s Guide, 6th ed. It was the precursor of AFWE. Parker, describing some of the 98s and 99s wrote, “…less interesting wines that err on the side of intellectual vapidness over the pursuit of wines of heart, soul, and pleasure.” And he gave the 98 - 87pts & the 99 - 88pts. Not bad, but definitely low on Parker’s high flying scoring of big Napa Cabs of that period.
The good news from this was I got some of the 98s a while ago for $50 a bottle in the gray market.