Ogier Côte-Rôtie 1998

93 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 1998 from Domaine Ogier is a very fine bottle of new oaky Côte-Rôtie. Aromatically, the generous serving of new oak here nicely blends in with the other elements, offering up a bouquet of raspberries, smoked meats, pepper, black tea, a lovely base of soil, just a hint of hazelnut, lavender and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, fairly modest tannins, and very good length and grip on the well-balanced and classy finish. My only question about the oak here is that it tends to give the wine a slightly rigid textural feel on the backend, which may or may not dissipate with further bottle age. My instincts tell me that the oak here is always going to be fairly present on the finish of the wine, so that drinking it up while the fruit remains robust and sappy is probably the best course of action. It is a very good bottle of Côte-Rôtie, but stylistically, I like the oak treatment found in the 1991 version more attractive, as it is more toasty oak and less spicy in character and also seems a tad better integrated into the finished wine. Drink: 2023-2050. (Sep/Oct 2023)"

90-93 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar<): "Bright deep ruby to the rim. Deep, pure aromas of black raspberry, cassis, bacon fat and cinnamon. Fat, fresh and dense; still quite unevolved in the middle palate. Finishes with plenty of dusty tannins and hints of leather and white pepper. (Jan/Feb 2000)"

90 points Robert Parker: "Ogier's regular cuvee of Cote Rotie sees about 25-30% new oak. It spends 18 months in barrel, and over 70% of the grapes emerge from their holdings on the Cote Blonde. The 1998 Cote Rotie exhibits scents and flavors of charred earth, smoke, minerals, and cassis. The wine is full-bodied, rich, and dense, with abundant tannin in the finish. The French might call it a true vin de garde. It needs 4-5 years of cellaring, and will keep for 15-18+ years. This wine is bottled with no filtration. (2/27/01)"