Vintage Weather
1998 across the wine world
Every region on record for 1998, read the same way: temperature, rain, harvest timing, and the events that shaped the season.
A cool, wet El Nino year that favored well-drained, higher sites.
Harvested autumn 1998
The hottest, driest season since 1910 produced Australia's greatest modern red vintage.
Harvested autumn 1998
Scorching August heat and well-timed picking made this a Right Bank triumph.
Frost, oidium, and heat made deeply colored, tannic reds and weak whites.
Frost, record heat, and heavy rain made a wild, ultimately balanced year.
April frost slashed yields; a hot dry summer built dense, ageworthy wines.
A hot August and rainy autumn still produced a solid, all-round vintage.
One of the hottest summers on record built a refined, balanced wine.
A hot, dry summer and September rain split early and late pickers.
Mildew cut yields, then extreme heat and harvest rain made a mixed year.
A hot, dry summer and small crop built concentrated, age-worthy wines.
El Nino brought a wet, uneven season, but wines aged with high acidity.
Tiny yields and ripe fruit made one of the decade's most concentrated years.
A cold, wet El Nino year with mildew pressure made surprisingly age-worthy wines.
One of the hottest seasons on record made deeply concentrated, powerful reds.