This was the grand prize winning wine last Friday at Chateau Vino Me. My wife chose this as her favorite wine of the evening (together with just about everyone else). I will hold the prize (a wine tasting kit) for Frankie, who brought this wine, until the next time I see him.

It is from the underated 1998 Right Bank Bordeaux vintage (I say underrated because it seems that the 1998 Right Bank wines have gotten relatively little press in light of all the hype over 2000). Yet, the Right Bank did as well or better than the 2000 vintage in 1998 and can be purchased for a bargain in comparison. This estate is an example. The 1998 got scores of 93 and 94 from WS and WA respectively while the 2000 got an 89 from WS (I am not sure of the WA score as I type this).

Dark brooding color. This wine is extracted and juicy. Parker indicated that it could be drunk young or held for decades and after tasting it I have to agree because it was showing quite well already. It presented plenty of fruit with anise, chocolate and meaty notes. Solid tannins and a fine finish. 93 points.

Thanks Frankie.

VM

Eamus Catuli!

Thanks for the nice notes on the 1998 Monbousquet. I received one bottle as a gift and have been holding it till 2010. Your comment about those firm tannins confirms my minimum drink date.

I did buy the 1994 because of Parkers notes and I got a very good price. It is an early maturing wine, but I still think it will be better if held till 2007.

I loved this wine when last tasted.
It has been a year or so.
I think you can drink it now with about 5 hours of decanting.
I usually taste every wine I buy on release for a baseline reading so to speak.
I hate to touch them again for several years.
This wine, to my palate is an example of very fruit forward winemaking and might be an exception. That is, you might like it at any time on its development path.
Some have said Monbousquet will not age/develop in the bottle.
We shall see.

FWIW,

Dain

Dain,

I'm curious why some people think Monbousquet "will not age/develop in the bottle".
They use 100% new oak and its unfiltered and unfined; these conditions alone would lead to development in the bottle. What is your opinion?

glad lady VM liked it!!! as soon as i brought it out, otis i believe called me a dog or some such other to indicate that i'd stacked the deck

i would tend to agree that the tannic structure of this wine indicates a lengthly maturation period. i decanted for an hour at home, then reopened at VMs and we finally sipped after another half hour i'd say. this could, and it's been said by latour and others, use more time. wow, what a mouthful, full throughout the palate, a finish that lasts and lasts, and as otis said, a seminal wine! my impression is that, even with the fruit base of this wine, the tannins are still in control. i should have decanted longer but didn't have the time. i have one more and will not touch for at least 2010. i'll try to remember dain's comment and see if it's long lived or not.

I agree about the 98 R,Bankers.

But prey tell, VM, why you ditched your HB'S?? They are the class of the vintge.

This wine was my WOTN. Big, concentrated, serious and an all around great package. 60% Merlot, 30% Cab and 10% Cab Franc. I knew from the nose that this was going to be a great wine. Spice and berries with plum notes. Glad I have a few in the cellar. Thx. for allowing me to taste the nectar, Frankie!! Score = 93+

Cheers,
Blue Oval

Anyone know how it compares to the 1996?

It's wines like this that should put California vintners to shame for charging over $100 for wines not as good as this $55 one. There is also Beausejour Becot and Troplong Mondot that fit the same bill.

When is California going to wake up and smell the coffee?

Wow! I must be the only one down on this wine. I'm not really sure how you can call it extracted in comparison to some of the Aussie and Napa wines we've tasted at our events. I honestly found the fruit to be lacking. Right now, for me, it's way too tannic of a wine. On the DRAB-o-meter that registers a 97, but that only measures out to an 91 on the R2 scale.

Whoooaaa there R2....

My tanno meter never registers favorably without some fruit in the fruit-o meter!

Anyway....Sounds like you Illinois boys are up to no good! I think the west coast crew is going to show you guys up this weekend! Sunday is shaping up for an interesting wine tasting event.....

Just thought I'd stoke the fire!

Great notes on the '98 Monbousquet by the way! Thanks!

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

Regarding my comment of 'some do not believe Monbousquet will not develop in the bottle'
This opinion is rather frequently voiced by those who prefer 'traditionally' made wines. Their opinion is based on their judgement that 'over the top' wines like Monbousquet fall apart after a few years.
I am paraphasing. But I have seen posts to that effect frequently on Tanzers board and sometimes on the Parker board.
Parker does not agree obviously.

My comment was 'some do not'...Please note I did not say 'I do not'....
My comment was...'we shall see'.
Which I think is a safe comment given relative newness of the Perses regime at Monbousquet.
Given his success with more exalted properties such as Pavie I would venture to guess those of us who bet heavily on the 98 Monbousquet to develop my be rewarded.
(I still have a case btw).

Cheers,

Dain

Just for fun I thought I would go fetch this from another board where I posted it a while back.
This was originally posted on the Squires board, then to Tanzer, and since we are on the subject, now here.


There are a few comments on Monbousquet and Lafite on a different thread on this board so I thought I would copy this here. I posted this on a different board and while there may be some etiquete (sp?) questions about posting twice I thought it might be useful here.

So much recent discussion of the Perse wines I thought it might be instructive to open a few and report (in the interest of science of course) my tasting notes.
I'll start with the 98 Monbousquet, hereafter referred to as "the big M". I will try the 99 M and perhaps the 98 and 99 Pavie sometime soon. I opened the wine about 5:05 pm CST and let it set in the decanter until I began cooking dinner (5:30). I followed the development of the wine over the course of about 5 hours. First a few caveats...I can see why this wine is controversial...started quite a controversy at our house. My wife (aka she with the better nose and palate..see previous threads) declared..."this is thick...medicinal..cough syrup... please go down to the cellar and get me a nice burgundy...now...this might be good with raw meat...are you planning to cook the steaks?".

Oh well...different palates are a good thing, I like burgundy too but on to the Monbousquet. Initially I thought the wine was..get this..austere and closed on the nose..first sip was very dry and tasted like bitter chocolate and coffee, amazingly dense in texture..ok..back away from the decanter and come back in a bit. About an hour later...wine has opened on the nose and presents a fruity, even grapey aroma. On the palate it has become sweeter and more and more fruit on the palate to go with the coffee and chocolate. Later...more fruit development in the mouth..layers of different dark fruit and I am beginning to see the "chocolate plum pudding" thing..thicker than many ports. A bit later..even more layers, different fruits..a bit of black raspberry and blueberry and even...and this has been perplexing me all night...a very distinct and interesting flavor of sugared peaches. This is a fruit atomic bomb. This wine is huge, it is very ripe, it is full of oak and extract. IMHO it all fits togather very well and I really liked it. That being said, it is a meal by itself practically and some may prefer a nice burgundy with their steak...just ask Cathy. All the best and happy Thanksgiving to all, Dain

I have been told, this is 'Not your Father's bordeaux' and I would agree. It is different, perhaps the 1947 Cheval blanc tasted like this young, I sure don't know.
If you do not get fruit from this wine, you need to let it decant MUCH longer. Takes awhile, at least it did a year ago. Maybe I need to open another one!!!!!!!!!


Dain

My notes:

Immediate impression upon sniffing this one: deep and huge, a real big masculine wine. Flavors and aromas of espresso, black pepper, and rye. Densely packed dark fruit. Most impressive was the velvety mouthfeel. Tons of tannic backbone. Seems like it has all the tools to last and improve for at least another 8-10 years. 93P - which is the same score I gave the 2000 Monbousquet when I tasted it in the spring.

FWIW, I found the '00 to be more flamboyant and ripe than the '98, but not as powerful or complex.

Thanks for bringing this one, Frankie!

Cheers,

Otis

Dr.T,

I still have all 4 of my 1998 Chateau Haut Brions. Didn't sell any yet.

VM

Eamus Catuli!

otis:

it was great tasting with you and all the other forumites. altho you and i did take that first sip before the others realised what the game was

dain: thanks for the notes on your tasting. from the sounds of it, it definitely develops complexity with time out of the bottle. not dumb stage by any means, but if i for some reason forget my head and open this in the next couple of years i'll be sure to decant thoroughly!

VM-
Good. I was worried about you. I now have 6, having purchased 2 more from ojeffso @120.00. A 97 pt 1st growth from '98 is a much better deal than a 98 pt '00 for$300+.

Thanks so much VM for the notes. 1998 was the last vintage I bought of Monbousquet, haven't opened any yet. 2000 too expensive. Perse regime's first vintage was 1993 actually. I bought the 94 ,95, and 98. I've said several times on this board that a bottle of the 95 last fall was perhaps my favorite bottle ever. For some reason everything was in perfect balance. Can't wait to try the 98's, but will probably wait a few more years. I remember buying this Chateau 20 years ago for about $7.99.

Blue Oval brought this wine to Haggis' house on Saturday. I had forgotten that I had this before but I ended up scoring it exactly the same as I did 2 years ago. Earthy nose. Good character with a little bitterness and lovely black fruit. 93 points.

VM

I have four sitting on the sidelines. Thanks so much for the guidance folks!

Guys,

I've had two of these in the last couple of months. IMO drinking beautifully right now. Agree with VM 93 points.