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Black Sheep Vintage
California's 1998 Cabernets Are Tough, Tannic and Expensive
James Laube
Issue: October 15, 2001
Without a doubt, the 1998 vintage of California Cabernet Sauvignon is the most difficult group of young wines I've tasted in more than a decade. Because so many vineyards struggled to ripen in 1998, and the resulting wines generally lack the rich core of plush fruit flavors usually evident in young California Cabernets, this vintage is the black sheep in an otherwise spectacular decade of Cabernet vintages.
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