Last night I headed to the city for an informal look at some 1998 Right Bank wines. We had a nice tasting of some of the big boys a few months back, this was to be an examination of some of the less prestigious wines. Illness and schedules caused some last minute cancellations, so it ended up with just 4 of us at the always excellent Afghan Kebab House on 9th.
We started off with the 2003 Josef Hogl Ried Schon Grüner Veltliner Smaragd. Bigger style of GV, very ripe and round. Pears and peas. I took home bottle, tonight served straight out of the fridge it showed even more "pear-y". Not especially typical of GV (except for the pea/lentil thing) , but a nice wine. B
To the reds:
1998 Clos Rene (Pomerol).I had double-decanted this in afternoon, it had thrown lots of fine sediment so I was glad I had. Soft with fully-resolved tannins. Medium-bodied without the Pomerol lushness - I would have guessed St. Emilion blind. Pleasant wine, drink up. B/B+
1998 Chauvin (St. Emilion) -lots of spicy oak and vanilla on nose. Low-acid, fruit-forward, with dark berry and chocolate flavors. Nice and ready to go. B/B+
1998 La Tour Figeac (St. Emilion) - structured and still needing some time. Cassis and black plum fruit, a little tobacco. Low-acid but with lots of ripe tannic structure. A-/B+
1998 Faugeres (St. Emilion) - a bit shy on the nose. Ripe fruit on the palate and a noticable dose of tannin. Tannic but long finish. Give it time. B+
1998 Ch. La Rame (Ste. Croix de Mont)- a bit hot on the nose (label says 14ABV). Sweet and simple, ok for the money, but I wouldn't cross the street for it. B-/C+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency