Selling the '98 vintage

Wines & Vines, Jan, 2003 by Tina Caputo

Jim Laube of Wine Spectator fame ruffled a few feathers in a recent column by saying that California's 1998 reds aren't worth squat. (I'm paraphrasing, of course, but you get the idea.) He lamented the high prices charged by Napa wineries and admonished vintners for defending the vintage and trying to put a "positive spin" on it.

Instead of trying to cover up its flaws and blaming the media for its failure in the marketplace, he said, they should have been the first to acknowledge the vintage's shortcomings.

While '98 was certainly not one of California's best vintages, there are some who believe that Laube's comments were off-base and potentially damaging. Others admit that he made some valid points, and that there are important lessons to be learned from this much-maligned vintage.

According to Craig Williams, director of winemaking for Napa Valley's Joseph Phelps Vineyards, it's a little of both.

"Compared to the '97 vintage, yes '98 was a poor year, Williams aid. "Con versely, often excellent vintages that follow a 'great' year are overlooked--as in Bordeaux '61 versus '62 or Napa '90 versus '91. I suppose it all depends upon the standard that's applied."

Though Wine Spectator gave the Joseph Phelps 1998 Insignia an impressive 93-point score, Williams said his '98 wines didn't sell as well as those from other vintages. "It was more challenging," he said. "However, we were extremely careful in our blending decisions that ultimately declassified over 20,000 gallons of wine into the bulk market. While a difficult year, our 'vintage' quality was competitive with Cabernet Sauvignon from other regions."

When faced with a challenging vintage, Williams said that winemakers should be honest with the public and the media. "Time is running out on wineries or appellations worldwide that attempt to make a positive out of a negative," he said. "Wine critics and consumers recognize quality when they taste it. It's OK to say that this year is not as good as last year. It brings credibility to your brand."

The media should also do its part, Williams said, by waiting until winemakers can give a proper assessment of a new vintage.

"Sometimes, winegrowers attempt to spin the vintage soon after or sometimes during the harvest," he said. "The wine media is guilty, in this respect, of pressing winegrowers for this detailed information even though the wines have not even completed fermentation. General comments are fine but unless catastrophic weather affects the harvest, I don't see any reason why we can't wait until November or December to assess quality."

Once the quality of the vintage is determined, he said, the wines should be priced accordingly.

"I believe our small region, compared to Bordeaux, is still undervalued," Williams said. "In my opinion, the consistency and increasing quality make these wines compelling values. Perhaps the better question is: Do you increase prices in a poor year? Here, with many wines produced in small quantities, supply and demand remain influential."

Rob Hunter, winemaker for Sterling Vineyards, shared similar opinions of the vintage.

"1998 suffered due to the shadow that 1997 cast over it," Hunter said. "1997 was a warm vintage with prolific, terrific wines. Everyone and anyone should have been able to make great wines in that year--it was kind of a no-brainer. 1998 was a lighter yielding, later vintage. There was some over-cropping at some wineries, and a mid-harvest cold snap with rain challenged many winemakers and growers.

Despite the challenges of the vintage, Hunter said they were able to produce some excellent wines.

"Making great wines in any vintage is dependent upon attention to detail," he said. "Grow great grapes, ferment them accordingly and don't get passive. If you lose focus, the wines will lose focus as well. This is true for every vintage, but for challenging years, a winery of scale with superb resources should be able to make great wines. It all seems so simple, but trust me, it isn't. At Sterling, we had the resources to work with the growers, insuring proper crop loads and appropriate delivery timing to highlight ripe varietal fruit characters," he said. "In turn, we had some very nice wines to work with in 1998. The one major exception was our Pinot noir, which was on the higher side of tannin.

Many of Sterling's '98 reds sold well, Hunter said, while others fell victim to the negative media hype surrounding the vintage. "Our Napa Valley wines from 1998, both Cabernet and Merlot, as well as the Three Palms Merlot and DMR Cabernet, were nearly sold out by the time the critics pooh-poohed the vintage. Unfortunately the Reserve Merlot and Cabernet were not yet released, and were guilty by association with other less-than-optimal 1998 vintage wines. Both the 1998 Reserve Merlot and Cabernet are phenomenal wines, and in blind tastings they are show stoppers. The vintage bashing of 1998 is really too bad, considering these two wines were made from the top 5% of all lots from the vintage."