Checking in on 1998 first growths 25 years on

[Comte Flaneur]

We did this at the Chez Bruce private room on the edge of Wandsworth Common in South London. It must have been nearly a decade ago that we did a dinner there with the theme of St Emilion first growths. This was soon after Angélus and Pavie had - somewhat controversially - been promoted to Premier Grand Cru A alongside Ausone and Cheval Blanc, who were rumoured not to be best pleased that these two parkerised interlopers had entered their exclusive little club. I remember the 2005 Pavie and Angelus being ghastly monstrosities.

Fast forward to last week and it was Simon Riley’s idea to do a 1998 first growth dinner to check in on how these wines are faring at the quarter century mark, with his bottle of Chateau Margaux being the starter for ten. Representing the right bank we had Ausone and Cheval Blanc plus Angelus and Figeac as a late entry, with this estate having been promoted to Premier Grand Cru A status last year, but by then the only one left was Pavie after Ausone and Cheval Blanc resigned from the appellation in protest, followed somewhat disingenuously by Angelus. We had all the 1855 first growths in the line up but no La Mission.

With a superlative wild mushroom cavatelli, roast calf’s sweetbread, chicken ballotine and hazelnuts we had three of the St-Emilions. First out of the gate Figeac, which immediately set a high tempo for what lay ahead. A much more restrained entry than the 2001 two days earlier, this Figeac tried for the third time this year is now perfectly resolved with rich red and black fruits, tapenade, hedgerow and various tobacco nuances, and perfect poise. It was suggested around the table that this needs drinking but in my opinion it has just entered a long plateau of maturity. Another superb showing - 96 points (+6).

Cheval Blanc its neighbour was much more reticent on pouring. Back at that previous dinner about a decade ago it was painfully young, but last night it was clearly much closer to its plateau of maturity, but still a few years away. But clearly a wine of extraordinary refinement and potential that oozes class and right now is only whispering its wares. It had more brooding intensity than the Figeac and was somewhat austere by comparison. It will be interesting to compare these two in ten years, but for now 95+ (+5+) with upside potential.

Angelus rounded out the flight and my hopes were lifted by a superb half bottle of this that Jim brought over for the BWE London convention in March. This bottle served a tad warm had saddle leather on the attack, and a looser knit more savoury texture than its Cabernet-rich flight mates. It was not as good as the half we had in March. It would have been lovely on its own, but lacked the depth, intensity, nuance and class of its flight mates - 93 (+3).


The Ausone was shunted into the next flight with Haut-Brion and Ch. Margaux with the next exquisite course of beef fillet tail glazed with celeriac purée. This vintage of Ausone is roughly half cab franc and half merlot and was a different kettle of fish to the Cheval Blanc, with liquid graphite notes and astonishing refinement and perfect poise. A wine with impeccable breeding and gravitas with the limestone terroir shining through. This was the pick of the St-Emilions and my wine of the night - 97 (+7).

Haut-Brion 1998 is a formidable, towering behemoth of a wine with power and density with an exhilarating granite-iron minerality and searing acidity. It will remain on the upslope for another decade at least and it is not surprising that it is regarded as the wine of the vintage and was voted wine of the night. However, while it continued to drive forward during the evening, for drinking right now there were better options last night - 96+ (+6+).

The 1998 vintage, like 1964, was a difficult one in the Medoc because of the biblical deluge around harvest time. Last time I tried Ch Margaux 1998, served to me by Alex at his house in Bordeaux along with Lafite 98, it was a bit clumsy and out of sorts, especially for a Ch Margaux, and played second fiddle to the Lafite. I worried that it might be shown up by the sheer class of its flight mates. But in fact it held its own admirably, and this was a very pleasing performance. It has a classical Margaux entry and good density in the palate, perhaps with out the sheer elegance and refinement of vintages like 1999 and 2001. Still a good showing, and I liked it more than the 2001 Palmer on Tuesday - 94 (+4).


With an extraordinary selection of cheeses we then moved on to the three Medoc first growths. The Lafite was initially standoffish and surly. Disappointing because I expected it to shine in this flight, just as it rang ring rounds that bottle of Ch Margaux 98 with Alex a few years ago. Then remarkably it somehow transmogrified into something more recognisably Lafite with that supreme authority in the mid palate. But still not quite the best bottle of this I have encountered, and not as good as the one Alex served - 95 (+5).

The Latour was awkward and foursquare too. I expected it to be the least impressive of the first growths and so it turned out. This was around the time when Frederic Engerer was appointed to run the estate and one of the first things he did was to fire the winemaker. It is still a an impressive old school claret but backward and lacking some charm - 93 (+3).

Last time I tried the Mouton I made the school boy error of popping it and not decanting it. This time it was double decanted at 5pm, so that by the time it was served around 9pm it was really singing. I really didn’t expect it to show it so well. It doesn’t have the power and density of the 1995 or 1996 Moutons but it has supreme balance and finesse with the full Mouton signature. It reminded me a bit of a the 1989 that really shone for us back in May - 96 (+6) - my third favourite wine.

The 1998 Yquem is always under-rated and always delivers. It was sensational last night - 96 (+6). I think if this was included in the scores for the doors it would have been a contender for wotn.

[JoelD]

Very informative tasting on what is clearly an underrated left bank vintage.

I really enjoyed the 98 Lafite that we shared in New York in August. Sounds like this bottle was a bit more reticent than the pretty one that unfurled for us there?

Also, Interesting note about Latour. I thought that the 96 was amazing, even in it's stubborn youth. Seems like that winemaker did at least a few things right? (Assuming it was the same one that made 96 and 98, which seems likely)

[dstgolf]

Ian,

Welcome back my friend!

Great review on the 98s which are dwindling in my cellar. A mixed case at best left with a lot of hit and misses from the left bank and more hits on the right. Never had the 1st in my cellar but have had the Mouton, Latour and I must say the Pichons for me performed better than the firsts. L Barton also did quite well along with Pontet Canet.

Thanks for the review and nice to to have you back.

[stefan]

Great report as usual, Ian! It suggests that 1998 left bank wines are underrated, possibly because the 1998 vintage on the right bank was arguably the best of all time.

[robert goulet]

Not a 1st but G Larose is lovely in '98