When released, though completely new to me, this was on of my very favorite wines from Oregon’s “comeback” 1998 vintage. At the time, I was especially taken with the red/black fruit balance - akin to wines like Panther Creek Shea and Archery Summit Arcus.
1998’s are pretty much shot to hell, so it was fun to find one more of this in the basement. While it has, ahem, evolved over time, it still has more to it than most of the vintage. While it is past its peak, it is still nice and drinkable.
Brown shade of purple. Nose of Twizzler and kicked-up red dirt. Black raspberry and sour cherry. There are still those hints of black fruit, though it is now red-dominant. The weights really all in the back palate. Still nice prickly acids, that fade quickly. Still some fine tannins that are really fine tannins. Lingering finish.
It’s not as well stuffed as it was a few years ago, but it is still a very nice wine. And with most of the 98’s long since faded away, I was especially pleased.