1998 Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa First Growth

Parker Coonawarra Estate make two wines, they are both red, both a blend of Cabernets and both are highly sought after. The Parker Terra Rossa First Growth is the flagship wine and is the result of some very conscious planning of viticulture and winemaking. Ruskin once said, “quality is never an accident, it is the result of intelligent effort”, and this is certainly the case with First Growth. The outstanding feature of the First Growth wine is the incredible depth and persistence of flavour. That kind of concentration can only be produced by meticulous viticulture and very careful winemaking and barrel selection. The First Growth is inspired by the Great wines of Bordeaux and is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

Tasted 17/07/2000
Opaque crimson colour with pronounced aromas of cedar, blackcurrant, spice, tobacco and toasted oak. The palate is mouthfilling, a wonderful concentration of flavours - blackcurrant, chocolate, mocca, cherry, spice and truffle with hints of marzipan and vanilla on the back palate. Outstanding persistence of flavour, which runs very long into the aftertaste. Fine grained tannins, dry, but perfectly balanced, with aftertaste of blackcurrant, truffle, tobacco, cedar and spicy oak. Cellar 8-10 years.
95 points 

Other Reviews….
Readers should keep an eye out for the 1998 Terra Rossa First Growth after its release later this year. Its dense purple color is followed by extraordinarily sweet fruit, intense glycerin, and a full-bodied, concentrated mouth-feel. The purity, high extract, and uncanny symmetry is breathtaking. Perhaps the finest Terra Rossa First Growth yet produced, it should drink well for two decades or more. Drink 2000-2020.
95-97 points
Robert Parker – The Wine Advocate