Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

A 1/4 century in bottle…mmmm. I have had every 90’s vintage of Phelps Napa, except a 90 I think. Many of those multiple times at 15 yrs plus. This 99 is as good as any of the ones I’ve had. 98, not a great vintage but the 98 consistent with the rest and 99 better than many would expect.

Siting it, it has a dark core with little or no brickish edges. The fruit still very lively.

The nose shows; slightly candied to ripe & some slightly plummy fruits; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, baked strawberries, pomegranate & raspberries. Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, anise to black licorice, sweet tarriness, dry tobacco, used leather, dry stems, dry crushed rocks with dry top soil, graphite, cocoa powder, dark cola, steeped berry tea, moist clay, dark & red bright florals framed I liquid violets with a touch of lavender.

This is still around its peak. M-M+ velvety, round tannins. It’s round w/ elegance defined. Nothing that bits back. Palate confirms the nose. Slightly candied to ripe fruits; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, baked strawberries, pomegranate & raspberries. Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, anise to black licorice, sweet tarriness, dry tobacco, used leather, dry stems, dry crushed rocks with dry top soil, limestone, dark Asian spices with some palate heat, dry herbs w/ a sage lead, graphite, used charcoal ash, cocoa powder, caramel, dark cola, steeped berry tea, moist clay, dark & red bright florals framed in liquid violets with a touch of lavender, very round, beautiful acidity, well; made, knitted, structured, tensioned w/ excellent length and elegance-balanced finish that lasts minutes & lands on moist clays and ripe, evolved fruit.

Perfect w/ the Prime Ribcap. — a month ago

Dick Schinkel

9.8

Fantastic nose with dark mature fruits, complex notes, coffee, soft spices, tobacco, pure chocolate, full bodied on the palate, very fine balanced, layers of mature fruit flavors, toasted cedar, delicios fine tannin and acidity, long, long aftertaste, delicious. 98 DSP — 6 months ago

"Odedi"

9.4

#AgedWineTuesday

Beautiful color of dark ruby with a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose of black currants, black plums, cooked cherries, dried fruits, cedar, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, tobacco and herbs.

Full bodied and soft, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate and fruit forward with blackberries, black currants, black plums, cherries, cedar, spices, dark chocolates, licorice, coffee, peppercorn, light eucalyptus, herbs, light vegetables, earth and black tea.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 20 year old Merlot from Saint Emilion is absolutely fantastic now. Elegant, chocolatey and rich.

Drinking beautifully right out of the bottle, extracted and complex. Nicely balanced and powerful, with a great mouthfeel.

Wine Advocate 98 points.

Drinking it with the wine maker, from his personal cellar, makes it even more special for me.

Drinking at its peak, and will continue to drink nicely in the next 10 years.

Fruit forward and good by itself as a sipping wine.

A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Aged in New French oak barrels for 18 months.

94 points.

$350. — a year ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.8

So deep and layered nose. Just wanna dive in and stay there. What a wonderful World. Despite The palate does not fully respect the nose, it is very balanced and integrated. Don’t say 2023 isn’t a good vintage!! 98-99. Elegance. — 2 years ago

Tony Chen

9.3

This is really nice compare to 1998, so much better & drinking nicely. 98 was dense & syrupy not a good vintage . — 5 years ago

Isaac Salinas

9.7

Happy New Year 2020! Wine Spectator rated it at 98 points. Bright and expressive, with vivid acidity. Taste of roasted coffee note. Palate of brioche, honey, and creme de cassis. — 6 years ago

Geoffrey Green

9.6

Pristine cork, decanted for 5 hours: still balanced, complex, and harmonious as a 20 year old in a challenging vintage. Fruit still lively, with mellow tannins—this still has a few years left. Came out best for me in an evening of great old wines: ‘98 Corison, ‘98 Montelena Estate, plus de la Tour ‘99. Never underestimate the consistency of a great estate, year after year. Glad I have another bottle or two. — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

9.7

#AgedWineTuesday

Celebrating 25,000 followers on Vivino, with this fabulous sweet wine from Bordeaux.

Dark gold in color.

Full bodied and smooth with high acidity.

Sweet on the palate with great complexity and mouthfeel.

Showing lemons, red and yellow apples, tropical fruits, spices, caramel, honey, peaches, lemons, citrus, turmeric and honeysuckle.

Long engaging finish.

This 17 year old Sauternes is drinking exceptionally now, although it will continue to age nicely in the next 30 to 50 years. A delicious dessert wine from a great vintage.

Rich and fruit forward. Beautifully balanced with enough acidity to balance the high sugars. Showing a wonderful nose that I kept smelling on for a long time.

Already showing great complexity, sweet and expressive. Opulent with great elegance.

Wine Spectator 98 points. Wine Advocate 100 points.

I've had many different vintages of this wine, and it is always very impressive.

Good by itself as a dessert wine, or with food. I paired it with blue cheese.

A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 30 months.

14% alcohol by volume.

97 points.

$700. — 5 months ago

Dick Schinkel

9.6

Great wine dine evening
At Restaurant Broederenklooster Zutphen The Netherlands 🇳🇱
98 DSP — 7 months ago

Jason Phillips

9.7

98% shiraz, 2% cab. Ruby in color, with a unique nose. Flavors of dark fruit, black currant, spices, and oak. Bold and well balanced with a little extra dryness, which I loved. Simply fabulous and impossible to fully describe. One of my top wines. — 8 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Dark fruits, berry, plum, spice box, leather, menthol & tobacco leaf. The 98 right banks are drinking well — a year ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.7

Fine and femminile nose, chewy and rich mouthfeel, deep expression of terroir on the palate. Austere aftertaste.
97-98 — 2 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.4

This '98 is not as muscular as the 2000 that we tried last month. Opening nearly immediate , soft with a graphite earthy thing going on. Very nice vibrant black fruits. — 5 years ago

with Logan

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Great bottle of wine from Northern Rhône. A blend of 98% Syrah and 2% Viognier, aromas dark fruits with notes of toast, espresso and cigar box spice. On the palate sweet blackberry and plum flavors with cacao and tobacco notes. Good balance with fine soft tannins, long ending with earthy mineral character. Developing nicely and has lots of room to age. Consistently good. A Fav! — 5 years ago

Steven Heydemann

9.3

Showing beautifully. On release the 98 was not rated that highly. With time, it exceeds expectations. — 5 months ago

Christian Fischer

9.8

So what to post here. This has a 3x100 rating and I am always suspicious when I see it. 97 to 98 for me. The way this wine is integrated is stunning. Multiple layers of flavors and mellowed tannins with alcohol that is muted in the background. A spectacular rendition and no doubt one of the nicest vintages I have had. Glad we had it together with the other wines and champagnes tonight. — 6 months ago

with Fischer,

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

I have posted a number of older vintage Jones Family Cabernets. Many 20 yrs and older. Three to four 97’s…none better than this one. I give few wines a score above 96. This is different. It is so close to perfect. Some might give it a 100. I struggle to give a wine a perfect 100. I have only done it 4 times in an estimated 25k wines tasted or bottles I’ve enjoyed. One was a port made before 1886 and tasted in Oporto at Taylor Fladgate’s tasting room in 2015, it was their Scion. Only sold there and at the time 5k at bottle. You end up there purchase the Scion taste regardless of the current cost. They put on a tasting show for you. I am half tempted here to give out a 100 but will refrain.

I am not sure what to add to that but will attempt to do so.

The nose is a beautiful, perfectly evolved Napa Cabernet. Nothing overpowers any of its singular components. I think the word I am looking for is harmony. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best, mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a flutter note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue & framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets.

The palate wire to wire is even & stupidly, gloriously, grand. It mirrors the nose very closely. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box w/ some light palate heat, best I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, kirsch not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, beautifully layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanillin, caramel, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco w/ a hint is ash, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, dry, crushed rock powder, dry top soil, crushed limestone powder, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a fluttering note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets, perfect, rainfall acidity, extremely well balanced, even & subtle tension-structure that stands up on the long set, refined elegance with a finish that goes on and on and eventually lands on spice & beautiful, refined earthiness.

What a bottle! 98 that leans into 99. I paid somewhere between $80-$90 on the secondary market for this bottle. — 7 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

See previous note from January 2023. Pepper Liquorice and Raspberry. Savoury and full bodied on the palate. Such density despite the drinking window describing this as “Old”. 2011 to 2028. I see this as having many years to go. Riper having blackberry and not as much pepper as you would expect because of this warmer vintage. The vineyards were originally planted in 1964, establishing this as one of Australia’s leaders in cool climate Shiraz. It has always been one of my favourite Australian Reds. Best Shiraz and Wine of the Year for 2011 as voted by the Good Wine Guide. 98 points from Nick Stock. — 3 years ago

Spencer T. Hess

9.4

I remember tasting this wine around 20 years ago & I remember exactly what it tasted like. One of the best wines from Napa for the 98 vintage. Rice a Roni should give David Ramey the Jericho Canyon fruit back to make Cabernet. These Rudd & the Ramey Jerichos are top notch. I just read Pepsi now owns Rice a Roni. — 5 years ago

Weijie Shi (Jay)

9.0

Fell short compared to 98 and 05. Little bit underripe. — 7 years ago