Every now and then one finds the occasion to open up the oldest bottle of wine in the cellar. The bottle you have been holding onto the longest and eyeing occasionally. In this case, the occasion was the installation of the first part of our new wine cellar, courtesy of friend Bill Kauffman. The wine was a Leonetti Cellars 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon.

I stumbled upon this bottle many years ago at Esquin, a local wine store. This was before the remodel when they had most of their wines in wooden boxes. There was a certain rummage sale aspect to Esquin in those days. I miss that. While sorting through one box, I came upon this bottle of 1998 Cabernet.

Leonetti wines have always impressed me with their elegance. This wine, however, was all about power. The 1998 Cabernet is nothing short of a spectacular wine and is drinking exceptionally well at the moment. It is also far from the end of its life, so if you are sitting on a bottle or two, you have more time to contemplate opening it before you will have to. 75% Cabernet; 12.5% Merlot; 12.5% Petit Verdot. 576 cases produced.
Wines:
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 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

 A gorgeous nose loaded with anise, spice, dried flowers, dried fruit, and black tea. Incredible grip to the tannins on the mid-palate and then a long finish with tons of black cherry. This wine is still packed – packed – with tannins and will cellar for another 5-7 years easily.

 $60