Côte Rôtie, Château d'Ampuis, 1998

(bottled the week prior to my visit; the wine's six major components are assembled only just prior to the bottling) Full medium ruby. Explosive aromas of cassis, brown spices, tar, mocha, spearmint and crushed pepper. Sweet, spicy and highly concentrated, with black fruit and pepper flavors given clarity and grip by solid underlying structure. Very long and aromatic on the back end, with pepper and spicy oak notes. Perhaps the best vintage yet for this bottling, which was inaugurated with the excellent '95.