1998 Chateau Montelena Estate

I think that I had my last (2nd) bottle of this not too long ago. I bought them at the winery, tasting them against the '99 and '00. Of the three, I preferred the '98 for its more savory character. Good to hear that yours is showing as well as it is, and congratulations on bagging that buck!

Mark Lipton

p.s. My personal choice is Syrah with venison, but Midwestern Whitetail is so non-gamey (for venison) that I can see it going with Cabernet.

With loin, steaks or roasts I prefer syrah also but with ground venison mixed with spices, etc I like Cab as it seems to bring out the sweetness. Our venison are quite mild as they tend to eat a lot of corn and soybeans in the fall and don't have to subsist on stems and forbs. I do not add pork or beef fat to my ground venison as it's being ground but (in this case) I add a bratwurst to the meatloaf mixture and wrap it with bacon as it bakes. My farm has an abundance of deer so I am fortunate enough to get a nice buck every year...this was a nice 10 point. I usually take at least one doe so I always have venison in the freezer and I donate one or two per year to my local food bank.