1998

The 1998 was simpler and a little lighter. Most preferred to have the 1997 poured, after an initial side-by-side, but 2 or 3 went …

Well, this surprised and delighted. I’d heard several poor reviews of La Chapelles between about 1995 and 2005. However, although this was missing something …

Picked 3 of these up from a departing MBA2007 on a fire sale. Was slightly nervous how the ‘98s would turn out, having tasted …

The lads at Planet of the Grapes picked this up for a song from another merchant who had categorised it as “cooking wine”. In …

A pair of engagements in the same week in the office (Anna’s and Christian’s) necessitated grabbing the last bottle of this from Planet of …

Kicked-off Christmas in style with this. It was a pleasure to see that this was one of the 8-10 1998 Champagnes that Tom Stevenson …

[signed in 2017 by: brother Alessandro di Grésy, sister Ludovica di Grésy and Kiwi winemaker, Jeff Chilcott] This is an exceptionally well-made and good …

This was a beauty. Mature, but with concentration to age gracefully for another 5 years, maybe? Quite dense garnet colour (medium, rather than light …

For my first ’98 Châteauneuf, this was rather disappointing (albeit better a day later, with some oxidation). Mid-depth garnet core, with a medium-width brick …

From a renowned year, but reports of La Chapelle being off-form between ’96 and 2002 had lowered my expectations far enough that I didn’t …