Two Times 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Yet again, I ransacked my stack of Châteaneuf´s from 1998. I have done it before - here and here.

Tonight, with bacon and rosemary wrapped fillets of pork with Hasselback potatoes and a red wines sauce, I opened these two.

1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine de Marcoux
A big, mature, warm nose with notes of red currants, dried raspberries, garrigue, dried resin and some animal scents, in a good way. Ripe and fine. This has matured gracefully into a deep, hedonistic bottle of Châteauneuf.
The taste is warm, mature and round with notes of undergrowth, resin, dried raspberries, meat stock and fried herbs. The finish is long, warm and fine. Drinking very fine on this night. Perfectly mature.
90p   (tasted 2014/02)

1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Benoit XII, Auguste Bessac
A big, somewhat foursquare nose with notes of lingonberry bushes, dried herbs, bonfire, boar sausage and dried balsam vinegar. A little odd but good. A touch of alcohol on the nose when it evolves in the glass.
The taste is big and broad with lot of alcohol infused red fruits, dried resin, fried herbs and hot gravel. The finish is long and with a noticable alcohol touch. Not as fine as the Marcoux above but it behaved nicely with the food. But all in all a tad too warm.
76p   (tasted 2014/02)