Chateau Angelus 1998 and about those'98 St. Emilions
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 3:51 pm
Popped and decanted a bottle of Chateau Angelus 1998 that I brought to a recent Zachys Auction lunch. Interesting that the wine, which had been "pop and pour" ready only a few years ago, is now showing signs that it really needs a few more years in the cellar. Any remaining baby fat that was present in the bottles I tasted between 2006 and 2010 is no longer present. Instead, what you have now is the fantastic structure of a great Bordeaux that is complemented by well delineated earthy, dark plummy flavors, violets, and a good dose of mineral-laden soil. The "terroir" of Angelus is showing through, and in some ways reminds me of the old pre-Perse Chateau Pavie wines from the 80s and early 1990s. The '98 Angelus is fine to drink now with steak and baked Irish rocks slathered in butter, but really should be cellared for another couple of years, and I would not be surprised to see these bottles drinking well 10-15 years from now.
I think the 1998 Right Bank wines, as they lose their baby fat, are starting to plateau, and have the requisite constituent elements of fruit, acid, tannins, and alcohol in the "Right" equilibrium necessary for long-term ageing and favorable evolution into the tertiary stage. I think the question is where do you catch the wines in their life cycle? When they were young, they were utterly hedonistic (save for Ausone, which was tannic and eternal as always) and brought immediate pleasure based upon their sexy new wood, rich fruits, plush texture, round tannins, and a healthy but not over-the-top degree of alcohol. They were fun and delicious. They stayed quite primary for many years, slowly evolving and shedding their baby fat/glycerin over time. At this point, I'm finding a number of the 1998 Right Bankers to be less fruit driven and more "claret" like if you will, exhibiting structure and integration and balance in a more precise manner than in their youth. But fun wines all around. And if the ability to provide pleasure in their youth, in their middle age, and after long-term cellaring are the characteristics of a great wine and a great vintage, the 1998 Right Bankers have definitely shown a consistency meriting the praise originally heaped upon them shortly after the vintage.
Best,
John
I think the 1998 Right Bank wines, as they lose their baby fat, are starting to plateau, and have the requisite constituent elements of fruit, acid, tannins, and alcohol in the "Right" equilibrium necessary for long-term ageing and favorable evolution into the tertiary stage. I think the question is where do you catch the wines in their life cycle? When they were young, they were utterly hedonistic (save for Ausone, which was tannic and eternal as always) and brought immediate pleasure based upon their sexy new wood, rich fruits, plush texture, round tannins, and a healthy but not over-the-top degree of alcohol. They were fun and delicious. They stayed quite primary for many years, slowly evolving and shedding their baby fat/glycerin over time. At this point, I'm finding a number of the 1998 Right Bankers to be less fruit driven and more "claret" like if you will, exhibiting structure and integration and balance in a more precise manner than in their youth. But fun wines all around. And if the ability to provide pleasure in their youth, in their middle age, and after long-term cellaring are the characteristics of a great wine and a great vintage, the 1998 Right Bankers have definitely shown a consistency meriting the praise originally heaped upon them shortly after the vintage.
Best,
John