Some good wines

WINE TALK
1

No way I should be posting this now. Over the last few days I have had some lovely wines with friends an family. No chance to take notes, but for what it is worth:

1998 Dom Perignon was terrific, the 1998 Gosset Celebris Extra Brut was not so much. The Celebris showed green apples, lemons and tangerines but was tart, acidic and not terribly balanced. The Dom was a surprise. One wonders how this can happen. Mediocre vintage, enormous production, and still a really lovely wine. Not the $120-it-costs-now-lovely you understand, but a complete and delicious drink. PAME as Francois would say.

2004 Angelus and 1998 Montelena Estate Cab were both terrific. Last bottle of the Angelus I had was tight and as sullen as a teen at a family dinner. This one took a while to loosen up but when it did it was really a joy to drink. There is a HUGE amount of material in this wine and it has a long, long life ahead of it. Lots of right bank success in 04.

The Monty was probably the best 1998 cal cab I have ever had. Faint praise, I know, but this was really very good and marked by none of the vintage’s weaknesses. Rich and generous but relaxed rather than ostentatious. These people are just so reliable and so skilled. They are probably my favorite CA estate. Really fine stuff.

2001 La Conseillante, in my view, was one Bob missed pretty badly. This is a really beautiful wine sitting in a very nice place right now. It too took several hours to unwind, and it looses marks for having more new wood showing than I like, but it really was a pleasure to drink. If you have a few, I strongly suggest opening one.

2

You’d be surprised at how some of the old school Napa producers have progressed with the '98 vintage.

3

Interesting. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that.

4

1998 Rudd Jericho Canyon, IMO, was a winner in 1998. Montelena OK. FYI, 2000 Montelena sucks.

5

Neal, how long did you decant the Angelus?

6

In many cases I prefer the 1998 to the 1997 in Napa Cab. The 1997’s are nearly dead other than the Dunn’s of the world.

7

On my birthday a few months back, my grandson surprised me with a bottle of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1998. from what remember, it has a unique after taste… kind of like a special way of holding on to its final note… as if it doesn’t want to let go. I loved it!

8

Steve, I opened the Angelus maybe 2 hours before dinner and set it to the side; we probably started in on that 3 hours after opening and it was better (as is often the case) as the last drops were savored ~5 hours after the cork came out.

Interesting observation about the 97s, Philip. I don’t have enough experience with them to judge,but I always thought 97 was much more highly regarded.

Simon, that is a lovely turn of phrase. We really did enjoy the Dom a lot.

Bill, you probably have more data than I do, but I have been disappointed by nearly every 98 I have had

9

Neal, I have had good to very good experiences with Rudd as stated above, Insignia, Montelena Estate, Robert Pecota Kara’s Vineyard and actually Silver Oak Alex.

All the big guns and cults just missed the mark.

10

Whoa!

What 97’s have you had that were nearly dead and where their 98 counterpart outperformed?

You can always pick up 98’s on the cheap too!

11

My favorite 98 is Merryvale Profile , it is an excellent wine for a great price if you can find it. Serge actually liked it better than the 97 Profile.

I have to say my biggest disappointment this year was 97 Opus One…

I can also say that 97 Caymus SS can go for years and years as can the Phelps Insignia

I had regular Merryvale 97 cab and it was in fact dead as a doorknob…disappointing considering it was a very decent wine in its youth.

12

98 Profile is a good wine, but the 1997 Profile blows it away.

13

I somewhat agree with you, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it blows it away. I have had 97 many many times and keep some in my cellar always. I also believe it can still mature even further, but I don’t believe it to be the case with Profile 98.

14

Fair enough, Alan.

Lets just say that the 1997 is superior to the 1998!

15

Interesting Neal. I recently sold two magnums to a client who was having a party and was unsure about the quality of the wine. Having drunk probably a case over the last year or so, I told him that his guests would absolutely love it and in fact they were blown away. I do think Parker blew it on that one and underrated the wine. I’ve even served it blind next to the 2000 2-3 times and it fooled people on each occasion. Good juice! (Disclaimer - I do sell the wine).

16

And at a good price too! Any chance we will see a berserkers’ special on this? [basic-smile.gif] I really do like this.

17

I am a huge fan of 2001 Pomerols. La Conseillante is fantastic but Trotanoy is the one that really rang my bell.