I picked this up from Beverages & More on closeout, marked down for $19.95 to $9.95. Based on the recent thread about the 1999, I had to give this a try, and was not dissapointed.

Muddled dark purple in color, the nose is a precursor to what is to follow on the palate. Nice chocolate notes, ripe plum, and a hint of blackberry. Smooth, well integrated tannins, nicely balanced, rich, with a medium finish. Excellent QPR, particularly at closeout prices. Great effort for this difficult vintage.

EW;
Concur on your TN's re the '98; have had several bottles and enjoyed them thoroughly. I'm looking forward to the '99's hitting the shelves in Louisville.

If you didn't have the opportunity to have the '97 Claret you really missed a QPR winner...head and shoulders above the '98 in drinkability at $18. You are right, though, @ $9 the '98 would be an absolute steal.

Strange coincidence, I had this last night at a black-tie affair. Overall I agree, not a bad value for $10, but I got quite a bit of herbal quality out of it, something I've found with many of the 98s and something I find really unappealing. Just one man's opinion...