1998 Jones Family

When you combine premium Napa Valley Cabernet vines with David Abreu, and then add Heidi Peterson Barrett you should get a fantastic bottle of cabernet.  (At a $75 bottle release price you might also wrongly expect the same)  Jones Family delivers on these expectations and in a difficult vintage to boot.    1997 Jones is one of my favorites.  This is the first 1998 out of my stash.

1998 was a rather difficult vintage for Napa.  El Nino weather patterns caused a cool and uneven spring.  The result was a delayed bloom.  Eratic extremes during the summer prevented grapes from ripening in a consistent way.  There were reports during July and August that temperatures rose so high that the grapes temporarily stalled, that is, they stopped photosynthesizing in order to prevent dehydration.  The Harvest date was listed as October 11.  This would make it the latest harvest in all 9 of Jones Family harvests.  Mid September is more normal.

At seven years this wine was drinking well.  Still fairly dark colored.  Sweet but not very powerful nose.  the wine tends toward forward but still elegant and richly textured.  Some of the flavors go beyond blackberry into the casis side of the spectrum.  Very very well put together fruit and oak dynamic. 

I enjoyed this bottle with Kelly, her parents, and my parents as we awaited an onslaught on summer rain.