An interesting comparison of 1998 CdPs vs their Aussie counterparts, all tasted single blind in a single flight.
I was able to correctly identify the French wines from the Aussie wines but was surprised at what I picked as my top 3. However, each of the wines I ranked as my top three were very close and in fact I scored them all at 92 points.
For the group, the top three wines were all very close in their rankings.
Wines are shown in the order that I ranked them with final group rankings noted in the tasting note.
1998 d’Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings- Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Color: Ruby red with little to no signs of age on the edges. Nose: Kirsch, plum, creme de cassis with a touch of heat. Palate: Lots of ripe fruit with excellent smooth texture and a medium length finish. Improved with air. 92 points. My #1, Group #2. (92 pts.)
1998 Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Color: Deep red with bricking on the edge. Nose: Cherry, smoked meats, leather. Palate: nice upfront acidity. Lots of good fruit and slightly tannic on the back end. Finishes well. My #2, Group #5 92 points. (92 pts.)
1998 Australian Domaine Wines The Hattrick- Australia, South Australia
Color: Crimson-violet with very slight bricking at the edge. Nose: Plums, cherry liqueur, slightly earthy, some spice. Palate: Deep dark fruit flavors with nice length. Seems to be very highly extracted. Tasty. 92 points. My #3, Group #1. (92 pts.)
1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Color: Garnet core to a slight off colored edge. Nose: Earthy with a bit of a herbal note, some leather and perhaps a touch of VA. Palate: Nice acidity and fruit. Still slightly tannic with a good finish. My #4, Group #3. 91 points. (91 pts.)
1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Color: Crimson to brick edge. Shows the most age of the 6 wines tasted. Nose: very subtle, not giving up much at all for at least 30 mins then started to show slightly pruny. Palate: Simple fruit without much complexity but did improve with time. I don’t think this wine showed as well as it could have this night. My #5, Group #6. 88 points. (88 pts.)
1998 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Clarendon- Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon
Color: Crimson with a fading-to-brick edge. Nose: Strong stewed fruits, pruny; to me it almost resembles stewed tomatoes. Palate: decent fruit, medium finish but not overly complex. My #6, Group #4. 85 points. (85 pts.)
Fun tasting. I’ve tended to put the Australians near that top when I’ve done those tastings too and I’m surprised by the Clarendon. GOod to see the Seneschaux still drinking well - I’ve got some 1998s and haven’t bought since - actually haven’t seen them much until this year.
That’s the tasting Robert Parker should do in Rioja if he’s going to taste garnacha - get them all from the same vintage and look at how they compare to each other with a few years - Priorat/Rhone/S Australia.
Rob,
It was a pleasure to meet you, finally, at this tasting, and thanks for your notes above. Here are my TNs, as well as our tasting organizer’s intro to the tasting.
Introduction by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
We have held several Chateauneuf du Pape tastings covering many of the top Chateauneufs in 1998, 1999 and 2000 vintages over the past couple years, each time with an Australian GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre) ringer or two from the same vintage. Remarkably the Australian ringer has almost always won or placed second. Perhaps even more remarkably, even experienced wine tasters had trouble determining which of the wines were Chateauneufs and which ones Aussie GSMs. This belies the common belief that Australian Syrahs and GSMs are over the top rich and concentrated but in a different universe than their Rhone counterparts. It also contradicts another common assumption that Australian Rhone-styled wines don’t age well. If anything, it often seemed that the Australian GSMs were younger tasting than the Chateauneufs from the same year. To be clear, almost all of the Chateauneufs we tried from these vintages were showing very well; it’s just that the GSMs showed even better.
Tonight we’ll test these results with a group of top 1998 Australian GSMs and Chateauneufs. The 1998 vintage was an outstanding one in both regions, and a landmark year in that it was the beginning of the “modern era” for both. The Chateauneuf du Pape appellation and the South Australian regions both became much more well known that year (partially because of rave reviews from both the Wine Advocate and Wine Specator), and many more wineries and domaines were exported to the US for the first time. My TNs and group scoring
This was the 2nd time I’ve attended a comparison of '98 CdP and Aussie GSM with this group, and it’s the 2nd time that the Hattrick came in at or near the top. And according to the label, it’s an interesting blend of Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. (The group has also done comparisons of '99 and '00 CdP and Aussie GSMs that I’ve attended.)
I’m not surprised that the Beaucastel was my #1, and I’m surprised it wasn’t higher for the group. I thought our other two CdPs were pretty weak, and definitely on the decline. Not exactly a fair match up, IMO, as our Aussie contenders are stronger wines than the CdPs on hand for this particular tasting. I’ve had many '98 CdPs that are outstanding.
1998 Australian Domaine Wines The Hattrick- Australia, South Australia
Group’s #1 (my #2) – 25 pts; 3 1st place votes, 2 2nd place votes, 2 thirds, 2 last places – dark red violet color; deep berry, blackberry, plum, anise, menthol nose; tasty, rich berry, blackberry, spice, currant, creme de cassis palate, with balance; medium-plus finish (Grenache/Cabernet blend) (93 pts.)
1998 d’Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings- Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Group’s #2 (my #4) – 26 pts; 2, 2, 2, 1 - dark red violet color; VA, baked and dried berry, raspberry, blueberry nose; mature, framboise, cherry, floral palate with good acidity; long finish (92 pts.)
1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Group’s #3 (my #1) – 27 pts; 1, 3, 1, 0 - dark red violet color with pale meniscus; focused berry, fig, currant nose; mature, fig, mineral, dried berry, black raspberry, molasses and graphite palate; long finish (94 pts.)
1998 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Clarendon- Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon
Group’s #4 (my #3) – 31 pts; 2, 1, 2, 2 - bricking dark red violet color with pale meniscus; currant, berry, herbal, oregano nose; maturing berry, spicy baked berry, oregano and smoke palate; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)
1998 Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Group’s #5 (my #6) – 33 pts; 1, 1, 2, 2 - bricking dark red violet color with pale meniscus; major musty nose blew off after 30 minutes or so to reveal a fig, dried berry nose with heavy brett; mature, tart berry, baked berry palate; medium finish (88 pts.)
1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Group’s #6 (my #5) – 47 pts; 0, 0, 0, 2 - bricking medium red violet color with pale meniscus; earthy, red fruit, baked berry, spicy berry, milk chocolate nose; tight, tart berry, spice palate; medium-plus finish (89 pts.)