Château d'Ampuis, Côte-Rôtie, 1998

The extraordinary 1998 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis is more structured, powerful, and concentrated than the 1997. My ratings for the component parts ranged from a low of 90-92 for La Grande Plantee, to a high of 94-96 for La Pommiere and Pavillon Rouge. All revealed huge colours, earthy, smoky noses with bacon fat and black currants, and various degrees of tannin. This is unquestionably a vintage for patient connoisseurs as it requires cellaring. It is dense, chewy, and muscular. This wine will be at its finest between 2007-2020.  92-95/100 Robert Parker