TN: 1998 Beausejour Duffau

[JCNorthway]

I bought a case of this wine several years ago for about $30 per bottle because by brother-in-law, who enjoys wines, has a son born in that year. At his request, I had purchased a mixed case of 1998 Bordeaux wines to bring out for special occasions related to his son. I decided to supplement the stash in order to have more fun more often!

Anyway, I decided to taste a bottle from the case just to see what I had purchased. I opened it several hours before a family dinner, and found the initial nose a little off-putting. It was hard to describe - it seemed a little shrill and green. A fellow wine lover said it might just be the merlot since, as a St. Emilion, it had a substantial amount of merlot. I decided to decant the wine to see if some air would help it out.

We poured the wine with dinner about 2 hours later. By now the "shrill" or harsh nose had begun to give way to a more agreeable nuance of red fruits, but the wine still seemed a little harsh on the palate. By the end of the dinner (and end of the bottle) it actually was beginning to seem in balance and was becoming enjoyable. I actually found my last sips to be the best of the bottle.

In retrospect, I believe that this wine was just still in an awkward, semi-closed stage, and required some time to begin to open up. Interestingly, RP estimated peak drinking to be from 2001-2016. Based on my experience with this first bottle, I believe it needs more time to evolve and develop the balance I would expect from a wine of this pedigree. It will never be a 1990 (which I only know about vicariously), but I am hopeful that the remaining 11 bottles, in due time, will provide some very enjoyable drinking,

Does anyone else have any experience with the 1998 vintage of the wine? I would appreciate the perspective of other's experiences.

Jon

[Claudius]

Jon,
I have been surprised at how slowly the 98 St Emilions have developed.
I have treid the BDL a few times and I was surprised at how tight and spiky it was - stored in a cold cellar, it was totally undeveloped even last year. And quite frankly, I got the impression that it may not ever be a top wine. The green tinges never seemed to dissipate and the tannins and acid seemed to be too firm.

Another case is Clos Oratoire - I really like this in a modern style but up until the last year or two is was brutishly tannic, though now the sweet red fruits are showing through.

Even the lesser wines of St E were pretty firm when young. Faizeau VV (from a satellite of St E) was fiercely tannic young though developed well.