1998 Hawkes Bay Reds

After a decade of waiting really it is about time we made some conclusions about the 1998 vintage.  I have tried many bottles of this vintage over the last couple of months.  The best of them are rich generous wines with plenty of body and ripeness.  The lesser wines, which in fact were designed for earlier drinking right from the start, are understandably tired.

The weekend just gone we knocked off a bottle of 1998 Vidal Reserve Cabernet Merlot.  We stuck a good bottle.  The wine was dark and youthful looking.  The powdery tannins were silky soft and integrated and the palate seamless with dark plum, blackberry and chocolate fruit.  A classy number and a better drink than the super concentrated beast it once was.

At a 1998 dinner we attended at labour weekend 1998 Te Mata Coleraine was the star of the show.  Claims this wine will reach 20 years slid out of the winery in quick time on release. At around the half way point I don’t see anything to suggest they are wrong. It is integrating well and showing some secondary development but there are still waves of dark, rich and cuddly fruit to burn.  Certainly this vintage is extremely revered.  Whether it has the focus and precision to claim the title as greatest ever Coleraine is debatable in my view.  It is however a lovely drink with room to improve

1998 Unison Selection came from a pristine bottle.  It certainly seemed more youthful than my previous encounters with this wine which were over two years ago.  Certainly it showed its class and was a very convincing Hawkes Bay red

1998 Alpha Domus Aviator was a wine that on release topped a number of comparative tastings I heard of.  I never was massively excited by it but I bought some anyway.  The tannin structure in this wine is gorgeous, focused and refined.  To me the fruit was fading just a tad.  Although one of the better wines of the night I am one to suggest this is drunk up.

1998 Stonecroft Ruhunui was very youthful and fresh.  It was a big surprise as I didn’t really rate Stonecroft 1998’s on release.  There is time left in this baby.

The 1998 Te Mata Awatea came from a bottle that was a bit off key.  I have drunk many of these over the past years and it is time to drink them up.  Top bottles are stunning.

Our bottle of 1998 Church Rd Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was surprisingly mature.  I would also advise drinking these up.  It didn’t impress some people but I enjoyed the remainder a couple of nights later.

We also tried the 1998 Thornbury Merlot and 1998 Trinity Hill Reserve Cabernet Merlot which were both clearly designed to be drunk five years ago and were a bit simple on the downward slide

So 1998 was a lovely ripe vintage that aged in a manner comparable to most other Hawkes Bay vintages where most flagships see 10 years.  There is nothing spectacular or unusual here.  Those who thought it wouldn’t age were on the whole wrong.  However it doesn’t appear the opposite is true either.  Some exceptional wines with a good lump of Cabernet Sauvignon in them may push the envelope but in general 1998’s are now on the table to be drunk.  My remaining bottles with very few exceptions will be consumed shortly