1998 Monbousquet St Emilion Grand Cru Classe

1998 Monbousquet St Emilion Grand Cru Classe

First Growth Quality
The owner of Grand Cru Classe A Gerard Perse bought Monbousquet in 1993, he obviously knew what he’s doing, and having a foresight of the quality that can be produced from this vineyard. I can certainly feel that the quality of Monbousquet punches way above it’s current status after drinking the excellent vintage of 1998 last night. I decanted it for 2 hours, and the nose did not soften at all; totally shut and very concentrated and congested fruity nose. Palette was a big wine by any standard, it barely opened up after 2.5 hours in the decanter. My last sip was still filled with grips. This bottle easily rivalled any left bank first growth wines like Mouton Rothschild 98 and Margaux 98, and I’m very sure no second growth can outrun this Monbousquet, not especially super second growth Leoville Las Cases.
Incidentally, our company had a BYOB tasting last night with Sassicaia 97 having a clash with Monbousquet, and many drinkers voted as Wine of The Night for Monbousquet 98. This added that I believe my bold evaluation was spot on.