1998 CNDP: one of the great vintages?

Wine critic Robert Parker once described the 1998 Châteauneuf du Pape (CNDP) as one of the two great vintages of the 1990s, but judging by his latest tasting notes it has not lived up to its reputation.

His re-tasting at the end of June saw more than half of the wines downgraded. At the most extreme end was the Fortia CNDP, which dropped a full 15 points from 90 to 75.

Parker described it as being “on the verge of collapse”. At the same time three 100-point wines, Marcoux, Vieilles Vignes, Roger Sabon Secret des Sabon, and Cailloux Centenaire, lost their perfect scores, with Cailloux dropping the most by three points.

Beaucastel, Hommage J Perrin and Pegau clung on to their top ratings but the average drop was 1.8 points.

Parker usually advises that the “sweet spot” for drinking CNDP is five to six years after bottling before they enter what he describes as, “an adolescent, awkward, and sometimes dormant stage, only to re-emerge around year 10-12”.

Parker added that the best wines continue past this barrier and reach the 15-20 year barrier, but it is only the “exceptional” wines that go beyond 20-25+ years.

It is a sad reflection on the vintage that only five wines have gained points.

In December last year the drinks business reported that the Rhône was the French region to have attained the most 100-point Parker scores ever, with 70 compared to Bordeaux’s 55.

In the last 10 years alone the Rhône has accumulated 46 100-pointers to Bordeaux’s 17.

However, the dramatic fall from grace these wines have suffered raises the question of ripeness versus quality and the formers’ aptitude for ageing.

Parker said: “A number of the top 1998s seem to have reached full maturity, where I expect most of them to stay for another 5-10 years.

“Some are just emerging from a dormant period with long ageing potential ahead of them, and a few are simply not ready yet.”

He still maintains that 1998 is on a par with 1978, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007.

The Rhône remains an untapped resource for investors. The Janesse CNDP Vieilles Vignes, which gained one point, bringing it to 97, costs a mere £900 a case on Liv-ex, figures well at odds with the current Bordeaux craze.

However, if 1998 cannot stand the test of time, how will the others hold up when their turn comes to be counted and can the Rhône prove itself worthy of investment in the long run?

Rupert Millar, 29.07.2010