Conn Creek, 'Anthology', Cabernet Blend

There’s a particular kind of thrill in opening a bottle that hasn’t wandered an inch—one that’s lived its entire life in the cool, steady quiet of a winery cellar, waiting for the right moment to be seen. This 1998 Conn Creek Anthology is exactly that. After more than 25 years tucked away in the winery’s library—released only after new ownership unlocked the door—it emerges with the slow, confident presence of something that’s been aging on its own terms. While 1997 basked in the spotlight with ripe fruit and easy charm, 1998 played the long game: cooler nights, brighter acidity, firmer structure. It was a vintage built to last, and time has proven it—1997s have largely fallen off, while the best 1998s are now shining bright. With that patient arc now complete, this is the bottle you want on the holiday table: deep, composed, and full of the kind of character that turns a prime rib dinner into an occasion.

Conn Creek’s story begins in 1973, along the Silverado Trail in St. Helena, when Bill and Kathy Collins set out to make Bordeaux-style reds in a valley still waking up to its own potential. This was pre-luxury Napa—when neighbors shared equipment, winery plans were sketched on napkins, and confidence came from conviction, not consultants. By the late ’70s, Conn Creek had become a key player in the small vanguard rebuilding Napa’s reputation, culminating in the construction of their Rutherford winery in 1979. That building—practical, eccentric, energy-efficient before “green” was a buzzword—featured thick insulating walls of Styrofoam, steel mesh, gunite, and some 20,000 corks. Over the decades, the winery sharpened its craft with improved canopy management, smarter vineyard decisions, and thoughtful oak use. But at its core, Conn Creek never drifted from its mission: Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals treated with patience and purpose.

From that ethos came Anthology—the winery’s flagship, its statement of what Napa could be through a Bordeaux lens. Winemaker Tom Montgomery approached it like assembling a cast: each vineyard block a voice, each varietal a necessary piece of the whole. The 1998 blend—65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec—was built for harmony and longevity. It spent 33 months aging, including 21 months in equal parts new and used French oak, followed by 12 months in bottle, allowing all the edges to integrate slowly. Anthology was never designed to impress on release—it was designed to reward patience. And in a vintage like 1998, that philosophy proved prophetic.

What makes this library release compelling isn’t scarcity—it’s purity of provenance. These bottles never left home. They didn’t bounce through collectors, sit upright in a cupboard, or suffer a long truck ride in summer heat. They’ve been in one place, in perfect conditions, since the day they were bottled. And the winemaking style of the era—extended maceration, moderate oak, belief in acidity as backbone—paired perfectly with 1998’s cooler temperament. What once seemed understated now reads as clarity, precision, and grace.

And then there’s the wine itself. Pour a glass and it opens with the easy confidence of mature Napa Cabernet: dried cherry, cassis, red currant, dried rose petals, graphite, old leather, cedar spice, warm earth, and a faint accent of mushroom and soy, all wrapped in the subtle cigar-box warmth that only decades of proper aging can create. The tannins remain firm but polished, carrying the wine with quiet structure, while the acidity still gives it a steady, lifted pulse. It’s the kind of bottle that elevates a holiday table without demanding the spotlight—perfect with standing prime rib, roasted root vegetables, wild mushrooms, or anything that calls for comfort and depth. It’s content to simply be extraordinary in its own quiet way.