1998 Dinner

I thought that "1998" might be a good general theme for a relaxed Friday night dinner of 5 couples as anything anyone brought should be somewhere in a reasonable part of its drinking window and it gave people a lot of leeway in what to bring. As it turned out, it worked better than expected because everyone brought brought a wine from a different country and that made for very interesting comparisons.

• 2006 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 91 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Goldeny lemon colour. Lemony citrus nose with some oak and some weight. Quite heavy mouthfeelwith a nice hazelnuts, vanilla and butter palate which has a burnt oak aftertaste but all nicely framed with fresh acidity. Very well balanced and proportioned. Some length. Should age quite well. Impressive.

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• 1998 Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva 92 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Not decanted. Black/red almost totally inpenetrable colour. Lovely Bordeaux nose that is all sexy, feline, seductive and alluring.......quite gorgeous. Great acidic precision on the palate with lovely velvety dusty resolving tannins and still nice dark berries fruit. Some resonance. A lovely harmonious, poised, precise and elegant wine that is a great blend of old world and new world characteristics. This does what it does really well. Gorgeous poise.

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• 1998 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Bricco Rocche 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Lovely translucent light red colour. Totally Italian nose: high-toned, plums and roses and violets with some nail varnish. Wow!.... the palate is very light and all chiffon, gorgeous strawberry, high toned and very perfumed. Chiffon-esque like that scene in the movie "A Walk in the Clouds". On the back end it is dry brick dust but also plump plummy fruit. Love it! For me, it beat the Grange 1998 on the night because of its combination of femininity and power. Gosh.......

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• 1998 Château Lynch-Bages 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Dark, brooding opaque blood red colour. Bretty nose, nicely so, with lots of new oak, lots of wet soil and blackcurrants : a very nice Pauillac nose. Lovely acidic and poised, not lush, palate but still a bit primary and lacks the mid-palate power of a better year. Good length but no great resonance. Very well made but a bit watery: a clear case of good producer beats bad year.

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• 1998 Penfolds Grange 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Almost black, totally opaque colour just lightening slightly at the edges. The nose is all jam and monster primary fruit - fresh prunes, fresh figs, plums and black fruits. Thick, thick palate that is totally toothcoating and very primary but with huge promise.......black, black tar and almost too primary for even wet warm lawns to poke through. Thick and jammy. Great length. Very primary........but promising.

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David pulled this from his Library drawer after we ran out of 1998s.

• 2002 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series 90 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Dark red translucent colour. Gorgeous nose and palate dominated by redcurrants. Pronounced but well-balanced acidity matched with thick-skinned tannins that have mellowed very nicely. Light on length and resonance but a very nice restrained and elegant Cab Sav from a cool climate region.

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Great fun and a good format for this kind of dinner........we'll probably do a 1994 dinner next.