1998 may be the best vintage for right bank Bordeaux in the last twenty years

WINE TALK
1

It is Friday, and I figured it woulkd be fun to end the week with a troll. Last night I had a bottle of VCC 1998, and realized that apart from a nasty Monbousquet, I have not had a bad bottle from the right bank this vintage. Irrespective of style, whether it is a modern take such as Pavie & Valandraud or the more traditional Figeac and La Conseillante the wines have been superb. It is certainly a consistent vintage, and I think the top wines that I have drunk, Cheval, Trot and Petrus (a small taste) were at least as good as the best of 2000, '05 and '09, all, I think, with stronger reputations. There just seems to be a beautiful balance to these wines.
Prices are on the rise, but it seems that the top 1998s are still bargain priced. Thoughts?

2

I don’t have a deep vintage reference from which to add perspective, but a '98 Pavie and Trotanoy drunk side by side last January were fantastic. Stylistically couldn’t have been more different, and I actually preferred the Trot, but both were tremendous wines. I had a bottle of the '98 Angelus last weekend that was drinking amazingly well - much better than the same wine tasted last month.

3

Mark,

I would have to whole-heartedly agree. 1998 has been my favorite right bank vintage by far. I have a '98 Clos de l’Oratoire in the queue for this weekend. I will try to post some notes later on.

4

Mark:

I couldn’t agree more with you…both on the point about the 98 vintage in general (and in particular how great Cheval Blanc and Petrus are), but also with respect to Monbousquet, which I found to be utter barnyard. Something must have gone wrong there in an otherwise great vintage for the Right Bank.

5

Purely in the interest of further research, I had a bottle of Beausejour Becot last night. This was the last one of three, and it has been delicious every time I have opened one. Still early maturity, the fruit was still dominant, but the wine was beginning to take on cigar and leather flavors. Definitely could have used a few more years. I remember paying less than $30 for it, and wish I had bought more.

6

can we close this thread? No need to spread this gospel :wink:

7

Close it after one of you guys tells me about Ausone…how is it? what’s the “window?” One of the few Bdx I own at all.

Thanks,
Mike

8

Mike,
Not any of these guys but I drank all three of my 98 Ausones. All were so enjoyable so I have no regrets. This is a wine that is wonderful now but will improve for 50 years IMHO. FWIW.

9

'98 Ausone is really nice. I looked for notes on it, but I couldn’t find anything really recent. The last was from 2/09.

10

Thanks, guys.

Don, hope to see you at LP 2012. I took a job here in St Louis, at WashU.

MK

11

[cheers.gif]

12

98 remains the best value for Right Bank wine. But IMO, 00 & 05 are both better Right Bank vintages.

13

Popped the 98 Clos de L’Oratoire at lunch yesterday. Huge fruit (almost New World) with the French nose and structure. simply fabulous. We drank it over a period of several hours, and it continued to impress. Glad I have more!

14

Try the 98 Clinet. Wonderful!

15

I think Jeff you are going to have to do a wine by wine comparison.

From what I have tasted, and I realize that you and I will differ on many of these wines (I can already hear you complaining about Angelus and Pavie 2000 being better) but then I like my wines a little drier than you, less alcoholic and with some acidity [stirthepothal.gif]

best
1998 Cheval Blanc* (2000), Trotanoy, Pavie, Angelus, Petrus* (2009)Troplong Mondot, Lafleur Petrus
2000 Lafleur*(2010)Evangile,Le Pin, Magdelaine, Clos Fourtet, Cheval (also 1998)
2005 VCC, Ausone
2009 Petrus*(1998), Canon, Figeac
2010 Lafleur (2000)

16

I am glad to have some 1998 Trotanoy that is yet untasted.

When I tasted Angelus 1998 and 2000 side by side my preference was for the 1998.

Last night we had another enjoyabel 1998 La Petite Eglise that is at peak and it was a fine value to boot.

17

Mark… I’ve had all those wines numerous times, along with most 98/00 Pomerol and St. Emilions. But for my palate, there are very few 1998’s that are the equal of 00, or 2005, IMO. Trotanoy, that Glen pointed out is one of the few exceptions.

I find the majority of 00 & 05 to be more complete, complex and richer wines. They offer more purity of fruit and riper tannins. Please, donot take this as a put down on 1998 Right Bank wines. It’s not. I own them and they are wonderful. Plus, because the vintage is not stellar in the Medoc, the wines remain well priced. It’s just a matter of preference between the vintages.

I have one question for you, based on your list. In your personal point of view, are you saying you thought 2009 Troplong was better than 00 or 05?

18

I did not like Troplong 2009, too much alcohol, and out of balance. I preferred 2005 to 2000, but even that was a little too rich and in my face for my taste. 1998 was much the best of them, but probably, like Pavie, the only one which I would like to own.

19

Mark… I thought I read your original post wrong, which is why I asked. 09 Troplong for me was a good wine, but I would have liked a bit more acidity. For my bank, for Troplong, it’s 2005, 1990, 2010, 2000 and probably 1998.

Will I see you in during Vin Expo for a longer chat?

20

I did not footnote it properly. When I put an asterix against a wine, it meant that I liked more than one vintage equally, hence Petrus 1998 and 2009, Cheval 1998 and 2000 etc. Troplong for me has been getting increasingly less interesting, and I found both 2009 and 2010 very unbalanced, and not particularly good.

I will be at Vinexpo again, but don’t hold out any hope that I can get you away from the dark side. [berserker.gif]