1998 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
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Tasting notes
A miserably cool, damp start to the growing season with an Indian summer, the 1998 vintage of this label has peaked, showing a little rustic on this occasion. The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured in 45% American oak and 55% French oak, 68% new, for 20 months. Medium to deep garnet-brick colored, it opens with a waft of fried herbs giving way to a core of prunes and dried mulberries plus hints of baked black plums, dusty soil, black olives and cast iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate is mature with loads of dried berries and spice layers and a chewy frame, finishing a little hard. 18,000 cases were made.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Our first bottle showed a slightly dull medium red color and an element of pruney oxidation, not to mention a peppery herbal streak and a distinct mid-palate dryness. But a second bottle showed a much darker, fresher color and an altogether juicier character. Yes, there's an element of peppery herbs that few 1998 California Cabernets totally avoid, but here's there's altogether more red and darker fruit intensity and an element of mid-palate energy that does not read as greenness. The finish is quite firm, with building tannins. My score is obviously for this second sample, which is one of the best bottles of 1998 Cabernet I've tasted recently. (13.6% alcohol; 3.75 pH; 5.8 g/l acidity; aged for 20 months in 55% French and 45% American oak, 68% new)
About the producer
Beaulieu Vineyard remains one of the most historically important wineries in Napa Valley. It is it one of the longest continuous running wineries in the region, as one of the few that kept operating throughout Prohibition.