In my last report on Château Magdelaine, I had an off bottle of the 1998, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to cross paths with a pristine example a short time before writing this follow-up article. 1998 is a...
In my last report on Château Magdelaine, I had an off bottle of the 1998, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to cross paths with a pristine example a short time before writing this follow-up article. 1998 is a great, great vintage in the Right Bank and it is not surprising that Magdelaine is a stunning bottle in the making, though it is still a very young wine and in need of plenty of time in the cellar. The deep, pure and still quite primary nose wafts from the glass in a mélange of black cherries, plums, just a touch of menthol, cigar wrapper, a lovely base of soil, incipient notes of nutskin and a gentle framing of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full- bodied and really rock solid at the core, with a velvety plushness to the texture of the fruit, coupled with superb structural integrity and a very strong base of soil nuance. The finish is very, very long, focused and impeccably balanced, with a fair bit of ripe tannin, bright, seamless acids and superb length and grip. A great, great young Magdelaine.