1998 MAS DE DAUMAS GASSAC VIN DE PAYS D'HERAULT

The '98 also looks to be an outstanding vintage for Daumas Gassac; polyphenol levels were very high. The red wine here is vinified in stainless steel, then spends nearly a year in barrels, 20% of which are new, before being returned to steel for three to six months more "to forget the wood." The blend is based on 75% to 80% cabernet sauvignon ("real" cabernet, not clones, as were used in the Medoc prior to 1914, said Guibert). The cabernet is vinified separately, and all the other varieties are made together like passetoutgrain; the wine is assembled prior to the malolactic fermentation -Vinous Media