Magnum purchased when first released and kept in a passive cellar. This is a prime example of a first class Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Explosive aromas, rich flavors, dark color with no signs of browning around the edge. A wine that required long cellaring with many years remaining.
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Still youthful in appearance, everything about this red feels like fall. Wonderful, middle-age bouquet, slightly balsamic, not yet wilted, and awash in black fruit, cassis, and eucalyptus aromas. The palate possesses no shortage of personality. Structured, fully integrated, and balanced, with a juicy core of blackberries on a full-bodied frame. Espresso lingers on the tremendously long finish. My kind of wine.
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15 years old and rocking still. The big bold flavors are mellowed but they are still present. Great cab with spice box and cedar that's well blended and balanced with traditional purple fruits.
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I absolutely love this wine. With 14 years in the bottle, it developed a slightly earthy taste similar to a Bordeaux. I'm not great at calling out all of the subtleties of the different fruit flavors, tobacco, etc. I did get some wood though. This was smooth, very well balanced, and absolutely delicious. I hope that helps.
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We had great friends in town for the Santa Fe Wine & Chili Fiesta. Went through the cellar looking for a bottles that should be drank, so we opened the '98 Phelps Cabernet. The community recommended that it be drank between 2001 and 2008. This wine was still in excellant condition. The color was still deep and dark showing no brown. Excellant aroma and great taste of blackberrys. We were quit impressed on how it has aged. We will keep the other bottle we have for a few more years and see if it holds up. It should be good for at least another year.
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Busted open this 3L for our holiday party and was greatly surprised upon opening the cork, it was perfect! Decanted the bottle throughout the night, and was delighted that this purchase was worth it! I am looking forward to some of my other JPV Cab, after it has sat another 5 years.
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This 1998 is drinking wonderfully an perfectly right now. Very smooth velvety texture with blackberry, dried cherry, and dusty earth undertones. Very good. Pick this wine up, a great value if you can find it!
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Cork was dried out and could not be entirely removed as it was crumbling. Had to double filter the wine to remove the cork. Despite this the wine was excellent. Beautiful deep ruby color and a smooth taste. If no cork issues this wine could be kept for another 2 to 3 years.
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Last bottle, broken cork, but the best of this lot for me. Deep purple to the rim. On the nose, rich brambleberries with earthy undertones. On the palate, redolent with fall fruits and ripe plums. Sumptuous velvet texture and a nice long finish with a tad of sweet cassis at the end.
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Stepping it up, Phelps! This bottle displayed a more youthful, full range of dark fruit to accompany its elegant, silky, sensuous pampering of the palate. Magnificently mature, excellent in all way.s
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Past its prime. But the nose still quite inviting, with old oak and dark berries showing through. The palate is pleasant, balanced, silky, and surprisingly candied at the finish. Wish I could have tried this at it's peak, for it may have been formidable in it's day.
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Fruit forward. Nothing incredibly inspiring, but very solid. Soft structure, without a lot of tannin. Definitely ready to drink now. Likely not to improve. If you love fruit, this is hard to pass...
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Very smooth, all of the tannins are nice and soft now (and sitting in the bottom of the bottle). Flavors of leather and tobacco, with a "secondary" twist to them. I had this alongside a 1997 Merryvale, and it blew the 'vale out of the water with much fuller mid palate, and better in every other respect. Drink now.
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Drank alongside a 1997 Phelps Cab. Well made, polished, balanced, holding up admirably. Lighter in style than the '97, but not surprising given the general Napa '98 vintage characteristics.
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Woot tasting. Decanted for an hour or so. While this wine did not fare well against the '97 last time, it shone on its own. Dark color. Nice fruit on the nose. Good acidity, smooth tannins and a nice finish.
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Absolutely delicious. All the dry tannins characteristic of this vintage have smoothed out and the wine has put on weight. More proof that the wise thing to do is to buy buy buy in a so-called challenging year, wait 10 plus years, and then enjoy enjoy enjoy.
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Nothing wrong, but lacks what it should otherwise be. It's dense and concentrated, but doesn't have the ripeness I'd like to see- it has a definite green streak. It's still a good quality wine, and a very good refection of quality Napa cab.
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Part of a 96/97/98 vertical. This was the least favorite of the three. Nice fruit when first opened, but seemed to lose some of it after an hour or so, developing a bitter, vegetal note on the mid-palate. Yet after two more hours, the bitter note was gone and the wine was smooth, but without the bright fruit of the 1996 or 1997. Paired it with pepper crusted prime rib.
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Surprisingly enjoyable for an awful vintage. Had more of a Cab Franc and Merlot flavor versus a Cab flavor. Hollow flavor in the middle, but again, a much better wine than I was expecting.
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It was excellent. We happened to be in Umbria when the recent San Diego fires hit. One of the worries was that our small wine refrigerator lost electricity and with temperatures in the 90's during the fire that all our wine would be lost. When we returned to S.D., our house was standing and the refrigerator was at 60 degrees-whew. Last night was the night to test a bottle to see how things were. We tried this because 2007 is supposed to be its last good year. The cork was in excellent condition, no leakage at all. It was very closed at first and then within an hour started to open. It soon was absolutely delicious, so good that I wanted to open a 2nd bottle. It continued to improve and was difficult to stop drinking. The fruit was just right, the tannins were completely integrated. And excellent wine - as good as we have had in recent memory. I had read the other comments and so my expectations were quite good. And the best part is that now we can expect our other bottles to be just fine. So if you have a bottle(s), I would suggest drinking them now or very soon. We are not experts but it sure seems like this wine is at its peak.
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Decanted 90 minutes. Ruby Red. Toasted oak and berry nose. Sweet, rich fruit on palatte. Light and smooth with nice balance and finish. Even better the next day.
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Not very impressed with this wine. Took an hour in the decanter to get past intial toughness. Afterward, mostly laced with strong oak nose and taste. Finish was short. I am usually enamored by the regular Phelps Cab bottling, but in this case I was very disappoionted.
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Opened for thanksgiving this afternoon, tasted then poured into the decanter. This note is from about 4 hours later.
Dark purple color. Spicy nose with obvious black pepper and toasty oak, but not overdone. Very full bodied, this explodes crushed berries in the mouth along with tobacco leaf. It finished very well, with no bitter or green notes (unusual for the vintage). Quite tannic still, but very harmonious. 92 pts.
I am very impressed with this wine. I can't believe what Phelps did with a 98! I have one more of these, and I 'll get to it when I can, no rush. I also have a 98 Insignia and now I know not to rush that one either.
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Quick Day Trip to Napa (Napa Valley CA): Tasting at winery. Cherry aromas with oak spice. Flavors of cherry, vanilla and chocolate. Tannins more robust than I'd want for the level and quality of fruit from this vintage.
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11/17/2017 - jackaroo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Magnum purchased when first released and kept in a passive cellar. This is a prime example of a first class Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Explosive aromas, rich flavors, dark color with no signs of browning around the edge. A wine that required long cellaring with many years remaining.
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7/17/2016 - Baron Slick wrote: 92 Points
Still youthful in appearance, everything about this red feels like fall. Wonderful, middle-age bouquet, slightly balsamic, not yet wilted, and awash in black fruit, cassis, and eucalyptus aromas. The palate possesses no shortage of personality. Structured, fully integrated, and balanced, with a juicy core of blackberries on a full-bodied frame. Espresso lingers on the tremendously long finish. My kind of wine.
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10/16/2015 - TEDL Does not like this wine: 75 Points
Flavour was off even though it was stored properly. Heavy sediment.
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9/10/2013 - tahaus wrote: 91 Points
15 years old and rocking still. The big bold flavors are mellowed but they are still present. Great cab with spice box and cedar that's well blended and balanced with traditional purple fruits.
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8/16/2013 - G-Man555 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still drinking well, good fruit
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11/22/2012 - Grandview Likes this wine: 94 Points
I absolutely love this wine. With 14 years in the bottle, it developed a slightly earthy taste similar to a Bordeaux. I'm not great at calling out all of the subtleties of the different fruit flavors, tobacco, etc. I did get some wood though. This was smooth, very well balanced, and absolutely delicious. I hope that helps.
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10/29/2012 - JSOL wrote: 91 Points
Honey, raisins, leather and strawberries. Very fragrant mature wine. A hint of blueberries as well.
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9/29/2012 - Santafewiners Likes this wine: 89 Points
We had great friends in town for the Santa Fe Wine & Chili Fiesta. Went through the cellar looking for a bottles that should be drank, so we opened the '98 Phelps Cabernet. The community recommended that it be drank between 2001 and 2008. This wine was still in excellant condition. The color was still deep and dark showing no brown. Excellant aroma and great taste of blackberrys. We were quit impressed on how it has aged. We will keep the other bottle we have for a few more years and see if it holds up. It should be good for at least another year.
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2/12/2012 - Chrispx wrote: 92 Points
Still strong fruit and good body, a nice bottle.
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12/31/2011 - kosinski wrote: 87 Points
Decent wine with some interesting complexity, but probably past its prime. Drink up.
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12/25/2011 - jsully75 wrote: 91 Points
Very nice napa from an okay year
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12/18/2011 - gbauer wrote:
Nice mature Napa Cab. This bottle showing quite a bit of fruit and plenty of life -- along with nice aged notes and resolved tannins.
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12/17/2011 - rbrianni wrote: 93 Points
Busted open this 3L for our holiday party and was greatly surprised upon opening the cork, it was perfect! Decanted the bottle throughout the night, and was delighted that this purchase was worth it!
I am looking forward to some of my other JPV Cab, after it has sat another 5 years.
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11/26/2011 - Raja wrote: 90 Points
Good nose. Taste declining. Hoping it was just this bottle.
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10/27/2011 - tahaus wrote: 93 Points
This 1998 is drinking wonderfully an perfectly right now. Very smooth velvety texture with blackberry, dried cherry, and dusty earth undertones. Very good. Pick this wine up, a great value if you can find it!
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6/5/2011 - Cabmike wrote: 96 Points
Cork was dried out and could not be entirely removed as it was crumbling. Had to double filter the wine to remove the cork. Despite this the wine was excellent. Beautiful deep ruby color and a smooth taste. If no cork issues this wine could be kept for another 2 to 3 years.
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4/8/2011 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 91 Points
Last bottle, broken cork, but the best of this lot for me. Deep purple to the rim. On the nose, rich brambleberries with earthy undertones. On the palate, redolent with fall fruits and ripe plums. Sumptuous velvet texture and a nice long finish with a tad of sweet cassis at the end.
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3/18/2011 - VinoVoyeur wrote:
Decent daily drinking wine at/near the peak. Still lovely fruit - soft and sweet.
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1/16/2011 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 90 Points
Stepping it up, Phelps! This bottle displayed a more youthful, full range of dark fruit to accompany its elegant, silky, sensuous pampering of the palate. Magnificently mature, excellent in all way.s
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12/31/2010 - luyen wrote: 89 Points
Had at Danny and Estelle's - still excellent. Lots of cherry, very sweet on the finish.
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12/13/2010 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 86 Points
Past its prime. But the nose still quite inviting, with old oak and dark berries showing through. The palate is pleasant, balanced, silky, and surprisingly candied at the finish. Wish I could have tried this at it's peak, for it may have been formidable in it's day.
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12/8/2010 - GEisner wrote: 90 Points
Fruit forward. Nothing incredibly inspiring, but very solid. Soft structure, without a lot of tannin. Definitely ready to drink now. Likely not to improve. If you love fruit, this is hard to pass...
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12/5/2010 - bullmrkt wrote: 90 Points
Very smooth, all of the tannins are nice and soft now (and sitting in the bottom of the bottle). Flavors of leather and tobacco, with a "secondary" twist to them. I had this alongside a 1997 Merryvale, and it blew the 'vale out of the water with much fuller mid palate, and better in every other respect. Drink now.
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3/20/2010 - bacchusrg wrote: 92 Points
Very nice!
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3/7/2010 - fredmartens wrote: 88 Points
Drank alongside a 1997 Phelps Cab. Well made, polished, balanced, holding up admirably. Lighter in style than the '97, but not surprising given the general Napa '98 vintage characteristics.
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2/27/2010 - PolarBear22 wrote: 90 Points
Woot tasting. Decanted for an hour or so. While this wine did not fare well against the '97 last time, it shone on its own. Dark color. Nice fruit on the nose. Good acidity, smooth tannins and a nice finish.
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10/27/2009 - hfindlay wrote:
Absolutely delicious. All the dry tannins characteristic of this vintage have smoothed out and the wine has put on weight. More proof that the wise thing to do is to buy buy buy in a so-called challenging year, wait 10 plus years, and then enjoy enjoy enjoy.
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4/3/2009 - grossie wrote: 89 Points
Nothing wrong, but lacks what it should otherwise be. It's dense and concentrated, but doesn't have the ripeness I'd like to see- it has a definite green streak. It's still a good quality wine, and a very good refection of quality Napa cab.
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10/18/2008 - PolarBear22 wrote: 89 Points
Part of a 96/97/98 vertical. This was the least favorite of the three. Nice fruit when first opened, but seemed to lose some of it after an hour or so, developing a bitter, vegetal note on the mid-palate. Yet after two more hours, the bitter note was gone and the wine was smooth, but without the bright fruit of the 1996 or 1997. Paired it with pepper crusted prime rib.
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8/17/2008 - Mallards wrote: 81 Points
Surprisingly enjoyable for an awful vintage. Had more of a Cab Franc and Merlot flavor versus a Cab flavor. Hollow flavor in the middle, but again, a much better wine than I was expecting.
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4/22/2008 - Lainie wrote: 90 Points
Complex nose, rasberry, vanilla, spices. Smooth and sweetish on palate. long finish, h.a.
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12/1/2007 - kins wrote: 88 Points
Definitely took its time to open up. I would suggest decanting at least an hour before drinking.
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11/11/2007 - Giacomo wrote: 90 Points
It was excellent. We happened to be in Umbria when the recent San Diego fires hit. One of the worries was that our small wine refrigerator lost electricity and with temperatures in the 90's during the fire that all our wine would be lost. When we returned to S.D., our house was standing and the refrigerator was at 60 degrees-whew. Last night was the night to test a bottle to see how things were. We tried this because 2007 is supposed to be its last good year. The cork was in excellent condition, no leakage at all. It was very closed at first and then within an hour started to open. It soon was absolutely delicious, so good that I wanted to open a 2nd bottle. It continued to improve and was difficult to stop drinking. The fruit was just right, the tannins were completely integrated. And excellent wine - as good as we have had in recent memory. I had read the other comments and so my expectations were quite good. And the best part is that now we can expect our other bottles to be just fine.
So if you have a bottle(s), I would suggest drinking them now or very soon. We are not experts but it sure seems like this wine is at its peak.
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3/1/2007 - buzzb wrote: 87 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. Ruby Red. Toasted oak and berry nose. Sweet, rich fruit on palatte. Light and smooth with nice balance and finish. Even better the next day.
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12/19/2004 - G SQUARED wrote: 85 Points
Not very impressed with this wine. Took an hour in the decanter to get past intial toughness. Afterward, mostly laced with strong oak nose and taste. Finish was short. I am usually enamored by the regular Phelps Cab bottling, but in this case I was very disappoionted.
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11/25/2004 - grossie wrote: 92 Points
Opened for thanksgiving this afternoon, tasted then poured into the decanter. This note is from about 4 hours later.
Dark purple color. Spicy nose with obvious black pepper and toasty oak, but not overdone. Very full bodied, this explodes crushed berries in the mouth along with tobacco leaf. It finished very well, with no bitter or green notes (unusual for the vintage). Quite tannic still, but very harmonious. 92 pts.
I am very impressed with this wine. I can't believe what Phelps did with a 98! I have one more of these, and I 'll get to it when I can, no rush. I also have a 98 Insignia and now I know not to rush that one either.
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1/11/2003 - Burgundy Al wrote: 86 Points
Quick Day Trip to Napa (Napa Valley CA): Tasting at winery. Cherry aromas with oak spice. Flavors of cherry, vanilla and chocolate. Tannins more robust than I'd want for the level and quality of fruit from this vintage.
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12/4/2001 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points
Currant, cherry, vanilla and smoke nose. Full and very well-balanced palate; delicious fruit; long finish.
4/5
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