1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire

Still a pup in terms of development, the otherworldly 1998 Les Cailloux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire is still borderline primary and unevolved on the nose, yielding staggering levels of licorice-laced blackberry fruit that’s supported by new leather, flowers, spice, and garrigue notes that just come leaping from the glass. It slowly unwinds over the evening, showing fantastic underlying complexity that struggles to compete with the crazy fruit in the wine. Full bodied and brilliant on the palate as well, carrying a seamless, decadent texture, amazing focus and precision, and a blockbuster finish, this is certainly on par with the ’90, and needs another 3-5 years to show at its best. Absolutely stunning.

Happily, the last two bottles of 1998 Cuvee Centenaire from my cellar were representative of the score that has been bestowed above. Dense plum/garnet to the rim, with an extraordinary nose of creme de cassis, blackberry, licorice, camphor, new saddle leather, and scorched earth, the wine is full-bodied, opulent, rich, very pure, and from sound bottles, a great Cuvee Centenaire that comes close to rivaling the perfect 1990. This wine should drink well for another decade or more. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 189 Jun 2010