made venison meatloaf last night ( I took a 300lb buck this past fall
and have a lot of ground venison) and opened a bottle of 1998 Chateau
Montelena Estate from a case purchased on release. The wine was still
a deep purple color with no sign of age. Aroma of rosted hazelnuts,
blackberries and black coffee which I find in a lot of vintages of
Montelena. Rich and smooth on the palate with lots of upfront cassis,
blackberry, blueberry and sage. Not a highly hearlded vintage but the
wine was tasty with the venison. "B+/A-"

On 4/25/13 3:46 PM, Bi!! wrote:
> made venison meatloaf last night ( I took a 300lb buck this past fall
> and have a lot of ground venison) and opened a bottle of 1998 Chateau
> Montelena Estate from a case purchased on release. The wine was still
> a deep purple color with no sign of age. Aroma of rosted hazelnuts,
> blackberries and black coffee which I find in a lot of vintages of
> Montelena. Rich and smooth on the palate with lots of upfront cassis,
> blackberry, blueberry and sage. Not a highly hearlded vintage but the
> wine was tasty with the venison. "B+/A-"
>

I think that I had my last (2nd) bottle of this not too long ago. I
bought them at the winery, tasting them against the '99 and '00. Of the
three, I preferred the '98 for its more savory character. Good to hear
that yours is showing as well as it is, and congratulations on bagging
that buck!

Mark Lipton

p.s. My personal choice is Syrah with venison, but Midwestern Whitetail
is so non-gamey (for venison) that I can see it going with Cabernet.


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Apr 26, 9:41*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 4/25/13 3:46 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> > made venison meatloaf last night ( I took a 300lb buck this past fall
> > and have a lot of ground venison) and opened a bottle of 1998 Chateau
> > Montelena Estate from a case purchased on release. *The wine was still
> > a deep purple color with no sign of age. *Aroma of rosted hazelnuts,
> > blackberries and black coffee which I find in a lot of vintages of
> > Montelena. *Rich and smooth on the palate with lots of upfront cassis,
> > blackberry, blueberry and sage. Not a highly hearlded vintage but the
> > wine was tasty with the venison. "B+/A-"
>
> I think that I had my last (2nd) bottle of this not too long ago. *I
> bought them at the winery, tasting them against the '99 and '00. *Of the
> three, I preferred the '98 for its more savory character. *Good to hear
> that yours is showing as well as it is, and congratulations on bagging
> that buck!
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> p.s. *My personal choice is Syrah with venison, but Midwestern Whitetail
> is so non-gamey (for venison) that I can see it going with Cabernet.
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

With loin, steaks or roasts I prefer syrah also but with ground
venison mixed with spices, etc I like Cab as it seems to bring out the
sweetness. Our venison are quite mild as they tend to eat a lot of
corn and soybeans in the fall and don't have to subsist on stems and
forbs. I do not add pork or beef fat to my ground venison as it's
being ground but (in this case) I add a bratwurst to the meatloaf
mixture and wrap it with bacon as it bakes. My farm has an abundance
of deer so I am fortunate enough to get a nice buck every year...this
was a nice 10 point. I usually take at least one doe so I always have
venison in the freezer and I donate one or two per year to my local
food bank.