Good ruby-red. Currant, black raspberry, licorice, dark chocolate, menthol, loam and tarry oak on the nose. Fat and full for the vintage but rather unforthcoming today. Much deeper than the Calistoga Cuvee. This will be a supple '98 with several years of bottle aging. Finishes with moderate length and ripe tannins. "Ten years ago, when we were doing extended maceration and using a harsher destemmer, these tannins would have been tough and green," notes Barrett. "But then that the advantage of being a grizzled veteran."

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The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (13,000 cases) will disprove all the naysayers about how bad the vintage was in the North Coast. It possesses an opaque ruby/purple color, a gorgeous perfume of loamy soil, new saddle leather, chocolate, and black cherry and black currant fruit, full body, and ripe tannin in the finish. As it sits in the glass, notes of cedar and spice box also emerge. Although more evolved than most Montelena Cabernets are at age 4, there is no doubting that it will still provide considerable pleasure at age 15 or 16. Kudos to the Barretts for producing this impressive 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the vintage's few stars. The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon remains one of California's most remarkable Cabernets. I have been following it since the early seventies, and even the most difficult vintages are still drinking beautifully. The home vineyard is so consistent that even in vintages such as 1989 and 1998, this wine is far better than its competition.

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Continues to be a great wine from an off year