This tea is many things.
I won’t attempt to discern whether the tea is real CNNP, or real 1998, or even real tea.
It clearly still has some punchiness to it, and it has some noticeable hints of age, but is remarkably yellow for a tea from 1998. It has flickering hints of flavors, like a mimeograph of the tea it once was. Overall, it’s still an enjoyable drink, don’t get me wrong, but if this is what dry storage hath wrought, I’ll be keeping my tea in the steam baths from now on.
The mouthfeel is not terribly viscous, there is not much noticeable body effect, and while there is some persistent aftertaste, it’s rather muted, as if from far away. What’s that, Lassie? The 7542 fell down the well?
Best leave it a while, then, it might help.
