Viader Proprietary Red 1998 Front Label
Viader Proprietary Red 1998 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

The 1998 Viader is an approachable wine with good fruit expression. Cabernet Franc particularly enhanced this vintage with it's great aromatics and bright black cherry fruit. Mountain grown wines tended to fare better in 1998 than on the valley floor –better angle of sun exposure allowed complete ripening. Approachable now, bottle aging will further develop bouquet and complexity. A wonderfully elegant mountain beauty!

Blend: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc

Professional Ratings

  • 95
    Extraordinarily rich, deep, complex and concentrated, yet remarkably elegant and graceful, this deft red blend reveals layers of exotic spice, black cherry, currant, coffee, tobacco and cedary notes ending in a long, complex aftertaste.
Viader Vineyards

Viader Vineyards

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Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.

Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.

POE16603_1998 Item# 16603