Last night I headed to the city for an informal look at some 1998 Right
Bank wines. We had a nice tasting of some of the big boys a few months
back, this was to be an examination of some of the less prestigious
wines. Illness and schedules caused some last minute cancellations, so
it ended up with just 4 of us at the always excellent Afghan Kebab
House on 9th.

We started off with the 2003 Josef Hogl Ried Schon Gr=FCner Veltliner
Smaragd. Bigger style of GV, very ripe and round. Pears and peas. I
took home bottle, tonight served straight out of the fridge it showed
even more "pear-y". Not especially typical of GV (except for the
pea/lentil thing) , but a nice wine. B

To the reds:
1998 Clos Rene (Pomerol).I had double-decanted this in afternoon, it
had thrown lots of fine sediment so I was glad I had. Soft with
fully-resolved tannins. Medium-bodied without the Pomerol lushness - I
would have guessed St. Emilion blind. Pleasant wine, drink up. B/B+

1998 Chauvin (St. Emilion) -lots of spicy oak and vanilla on nose.
Low-acid, fruit-forward, with dark berry and chocolate flavors. Nice
and ready to go. B/B+

1998 La Tour Figeac (St. Emilion) - structured and still needing some
time. Cassis and black plum fruit, a little tobacco. Low-acid but with
lots of ripe tannic structure. A-/B+

1998 Faugeres (St. Emilion) - a bit shy on the nose. Ripe fruit on the
palate and a noticable dose of tannin. Tannic but long finish. Give it
time. B+

1998 Ch. La Rame (Ste. Croix de Mont)- a bit hot on the nose (label
says 14ABV). Sweet and simple, ok for the money, but I wouldn't cross
the street for it. B-/C+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency