The dark purple-colored 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Phoenix is an excellent buy. Broad, backward, and powerful, it offers plum, black currant, licorice, smoke, and earth aromas as well as flavors. This full-bodied, deeply concentrated, dense 1998 can be drunk now and over the next 10-12 years. Importer: Old Bridge Cellars (Rob McDonald), Napa, CA; tel. (707) 258-9552

Bright ruby-red. Sweet aromas of black raspberry, redcurrant, chocolate, game and smoky oak. Sweet, pliant flavors of crystallized fruits kept fresh by framing acidity. The lingering finish features lovely ripe, smooth tannins and notes of black raspberry and charry oak. Quite ripe for Coonawarra cabernet.