1998 St Clement Oroppas

[winoweenie]

Finally got my hands on the rite bottle. Brilliant clear ruby. Lots of floral, spicy, fruity, vanillan odors jump from the glass. St daoesn't give the blend but this lil hummer is loaded with cab franc and petite verdot and the cab comes out eventually. A very nice entry without any harshness belies the vintage. Lovely soft tannins will keep this keepin'on for another 3-5. As usual an outstanding bottling. 90/91. 37 by the bax. WW

[Drew]

Here's the breakdown on the '98 and Bucko's notes. [img]http://38.118.142.245/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

1998 St. Clement Oroppas, Napa Valley, $45, 91 pts,: Composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, this red beauty is in its eighth vintage. It's fruity in a good way. Rich with fruity delinations. Very tasty with excellent flavors and a moderate finish. Smooth, soft, very enjoyable. Excellent for a mediocre vintage. Tasted 12/25/00.

And from Bucko on the Winelovers Page:

1998 St. Clement, Oroppas, Napa Valley, $45, 3,600 cases. Another well-balanced wine from St. Clement. Rich, sweet black fruit is accentuated by spicy vanilla oak flavors, chocolate, and soft tannins.

Drew

[winoweenie]

Thanks Drewski I knew the cab franc was heavy. I confused the merlot with the petite. This is always a superior bottling. WW ( I never taste a bottle on release like Herr Dr. does, but then I have to pay fer mine [img]http://38.118.142.245/ubb2/wink.gif[/img].)

[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 01-05-2004).]

[Jorog]

Haven't gotten this far yet, still holding '95s, '96s and '97s. Will probably finish the last '95 soon. Anyone tried the other two vintages?

[winoweenie]

The 96 and 97 are both, IMHO, superb bottlings.Have probably posted on them in the past. I normally start tasting bottlings 4-5 after vintage and determine when I think they'll be close to peaking. WW

[winoweenie]

Wanted to try this against the Raymond. Hard Call! More Bordeaux like and in a more sophisticated mode, I'd be happy wif a cellar-full of either of these here dudes.WW

[Stealthman]

From my cellar last month this spanked the Raymond, truly a nice '98, have one more and probably consume in the next year. I have worked myself down to less than a dozen Cal '98s and this still is certainly a pleaser.

[winoweenie]

Stealth, I too didn't do a whale of a lot of 98 purchasing. Looking at my inventory I find I have more Wash wines from the vintage than Calif. Also have more Aussie Cabs/cab blends than Calif. I only bought from 11 vineyards from Calif in 98 and then only after tasting them. WW