Here's two outstanding wines from the 98 vintage:

98 Hess Collection Napa Valley Cabernet:
Dark cranberry color with thin colored legs. Medium clarity. Big nose of rich dark fruit, spice notes, and a smokey overtone. Lots of depth and complexity on the nose.
Smooth, soft, and very approachable on the pallet. Lots of dark fruit with current and spicy oak notes with just a hint of cranberry. Medium finish with ceader and spice.
While not the biggest or most complex cab, this wine is simply delicious and ready now.
My rating: 90

98 Panther Creek Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir:
Fairly dark for a pinot, excellent clarity. Rich nose of cherry leaden fruit with a touch of earthy spice. Soft and elegant on the pallet with swirling notes of cherry, earthtones, spice, and cooked fruit. Very nicely balanced. Long finish with a spicy note. Very elegant and well balanced wine.
My rating: 92pts

"Every bottle holds the perfect wine until it's opened"

Glad to hear you liked the Panther Creek, Oregon PN's are awesome! Sometimes PCC uses a little more oak than I like on my PN's, but that is a minor point.

If you can ever track down a bottle, the 94 PCC Shea Vineyard is considered one of the greatest Oregon PN's ever. Guess who made it? Ken Wright.


Cheers

Scotty, I totally agree with you on the '98 Hess. I have had this recently and gave the exact same score. I went back a got a few more bottles, too.

FWIW, WS gave the '98 Hess an 88 and Parker gave it 92 points. I agree with neither and think 90 points is right-on.

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"I've gotta be honest with you, guys. I need more cowbell."

My experience has been that Hess Collection is consistently good year in and year out. I does not surprise me at all that the 98 is very good. I just wish I had bought some when it was available.