Nose: The nose is fresh and lifted with crushed rocks, white fruits, minerals, pears, and a touch of white florals. There is excellent depth to this while it doesn't really show any sign of age.

Taste: Light bodied with high acidity. The feel is still extremely fresh and lively with crushed rocks, white fruits, minerals, and a good bit of pears.

Overall: It was hard to believe that this is entering its tenth year. The nose and palate are still fresh and youthful with little sign that it will be dropping off anytime soon.

Nose: The nose is classic Savigny with earth notes, dark red cherries, cranberries, leather, and dark spice notes. There is medium depth to this, but with excellent balance to the fruit.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and youthful tannins. The structure isn't too overpowering, but it is present. Beneath the structure lies earth notes, dark red cherries, cranberries, and dark spices.

Overall: I would like to see where this goes with age. It's obviously young, but not overly so. This does seem like it has the ability to turn into something really pretty with time.

Nose: The nose was mature and refined while being filled with red apples, creamed peaches, apricots, spiced pears, and some custard notes.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity. The feel and structure are mature with red apples, custard, creamed peaches, and some apricots.

Overall: This was gorgeous. It's really in a fantastic spot right now and provides a ton of enjoyment.

Right off the bat, this smelled like it has seen some heat damage. Bummer

Nose: And here we go! The nose is just flowing in all of its George Clinton-induced funk along with leather tones, black and white pepper, black cherries, garrigue, black raspberries, and earth notes. There is excellent depth with everything just playing beautifully together.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is refined and elegant, but with that funky edge as well as leather tones, black and white pepper, black cherries, tobacco, and black raspberries.

Overall: If only I could've spent more time with this. The situation didn't dictate that, but I hope I get a chance at this again in a smaller setting. This was fantastic and was all one could want if they love the funkier side of CdP.

This just wasn't feeling right. It was likely over the hill as the tones were on the more faint side with the acidity also being somewhat tinny.

Nose: The nose was wide open from the get-go with black rasberries, licorice, hoison sauce, garrigue, black cherries, leather notes, and peppery tones to boot. The nose has shed some of it's cleanliness and is more resembling a classic Beaucastel profile.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The structure is clearly there, but it is showing that this is a more mature wine along with black raspberries, garrigue, licorice, leather, and peppery tones.

Overall: This is completely my speed and much of the things that I love about Beaucastel. It has taken a while, but this is certainly moving in the more savory and funky side that comes with aging Beaucastel.

Nose: The nose was on the straightforward side with roast coffee, licorice, raspberries, and leather tones. There was medium depth to the nose, but it wasn't too expressive.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and supporting tannins. The structure has pulled back and is in a supporting role at this point. There is good blance to the feel with licorice, rasbperries, tobacco, coffee, and some leather notes.

Overall: This just lacked some depth and charm to really make it good. Still, it was enjoyable and everything was in the right place.

Nose: The nose was perfumed and pretty from the get go with red cherries, herbal notes, purple florals, leather, and earth tones. There is excellent depth along with the more nuanced nature of the nose.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. There is a feminine quality to the feel with red cherries, violets, herbal notes, leather, garrigue, and earth tones.

Overall: This is an extremely pretty CdP. This relies much more on nuance and it plays to a more elegant side.

Nose: The nose had a classic take to it licorice, raspberries, black cherries, leather, purple florals, and garrigue notes. Sadly though, this was lacking depth and verve on the nose and was somewhat pedestrian.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and chewy tannins. The structure was there, but it wasn't overpowering with licorice, raspberries, black cherries, leather, and garrigue notes.

Overall: The 98 Beaucastel has always been all over the place. I've had fantastic bottles, duds, and in between. This was in between and it just lacked some character to it that would've made it much more enjoyable.

Nose: The nose is wide open and expressive with leather, kirsch, black cherries, meaty tones, black raspberries, white pepper, licorice, and garrigue.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. There is a deftness to the palate with garrigue, black cherries, white pepper, licorice, and leather notes.

Overall: This was drinking beautifully. It's in a great place right now and showing maturity along with a savory side too.

Nose: There was a good amount of power and richness to the nose right away with raspberries, licorice, kirsch, black cherries, and leather tones. While there is power to the nose, it's more like a light-heavyweight rather than being monolithic.

Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. There is a lot of polish, but with power behind it as well as raspberries, licorice, kirsch, black cherries, black fruits, and leather notes.

Overall: This was a fantastic showing. This had a refined power to it that was beguiling at each turn.

Nose: The nose was heady, perfumed, and filling with violets, garrigue, black cherries, black raspberries, leather, licorice, and hot stones. There is also a lovely layering effect to the tones that just really draws you in.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and refined tannins. The feel is silky and polished with kirsch, licorice, violets, garrigue, potpourri, black cherries, black raspberries, and some leather notes.

Overall: This was absolutely lovely. It is a middleweight CdP that is really entering its prime with a more elegant and demure side.

Nose: Right away this was a textbook Clos des Papes with some funky notes, leather, kirsch, black cherries, earth tones, violets, and black raspberries.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The structure is certainly in the supporting role at this point, but with an elegant touch along with leather, black cherries, black raspberries, funky notes, earth tones, and kirsch.

Overall: This probably would've shown better in a smaller setting. It changed a good bit in the glass, but when there's 15+ people, one has to get their pours in while they can.

Nose: This was just rearing to go, but in a more funky perfumed way with black cherries, violets, garrigue, kirsch, funk notes, potpourri, mesquitte smoke, and hot stones. There was a good amount of layering and depth that just constantly drew you into the glass.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is polished, poised, and refined with black cherries, violets, potpourri, mesquitte smoke, funky notes, raspberries, and hot stones.

Overall: This was a gorgeous Clos Des Papes. This is in its pomp right now with a perfumed and refines style to it.

Nose: The nose was dialed in and classic with black cherries, licorice, hot stones, black raspberries, potpourri, garrigue, and a good dose of purple florals.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and chewy tannins. The structure is still quite youthful along with black cherries, licorice, hot stones, black raspberries, garrigue, and a lot of purple florals on the back end.

Overall: This was a more youthful showing than I expected. Granted, it was right next to the 98 and 99, so that may have played into it. Regardless, this is excellent right now, but there is also room to grow.

Nose: The nose is a little taught at the moment, but its undeniably Pegau with leather, garrigue, black cherries, tobacco, earth notes, black fruits, and some purple florals.

Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and gripping tannins. The structure that was so prominent the last time I had this is still very much there. Even though the structure is still youthful, there is a savory quality to it as well as leather, garrigue, black cherries, earth tones, tobacco, and black fruits.

Overall: This bottle was certainly youthful still and comes off as a long distance runner. Time will reward the patient here.

Nose: The nose is just screaming from the word go with black cherries, white pepper, funky tones, garrigue, mesquitte, kirsch, and leather notes.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and excellent supporting tannins. The structure has pulled back, but it is still present along with black cherries, white pepper, garrigue, funky notes, and mesquitte.

Overall: This has been consistently excellent over the years. I honestly can't think of a single bad bottle. It's a lot of fun in a funkier and savory style rather than showing off red fruits.

Nose: There is an attractive dark fruited aspect to the nose with black cherries, white and black pepper, licorice, garrigue, rasbperries, and some bits of herbs.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and chewy tannins. The structure is still on the youthful side, though the feel is rounding well into form along with black cherries, white pepper, licorice, raspberries, and a touch of herbs on the back end.

Overall: This is starting to show itself off. The structure surprised me a slight bit given the vintage, but, its a lovely wine that has a long ways to go.

Something just didn't seem right about this. There was a very medicinal quality to the nose and palate along with some red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and a touch of spice. I've never had a Charvin act like this before, so I'm going to chalk it up to an off bottle

Nose: The nose was extremely perfumed and rearing to go with dark red cherries, violets, roses, herbs, crushed rocks, red berries, along with a real savory note that formed the base.

Taste: Medium bodied with silky and refined tannins. The feel is pure delight with a real elegance and silkiness backed up with dark red cherries, violets, roses, crushed rocks, herbs, as well as a possesing a real savory side too.

Overall: This was a drop-dead gorgeous wine. There was such an elegance and poise that separated this from the big pack. I would love to have this again and again.

Nose: This certainly showed the hot vintage as it lacked depth and was rather simple with a more stewed profiled of licorice, black berries, and raspberries.

Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium- acidity and hard tannins. The structure was on the stern side that seems like it will never fade. It also carried through the more stewed profile with licorice, black berries, and raspberries.

Overall: This seemed more like a weak Cotes Du Rhone than even a decent Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. This was okay at best, but it just paled in comparison to all of the other CdPs on the night.

Nose: The nose was showing some overt oak along with coffee notes, bitter chocolate, black cherries, and a touch of wood spice. The oak is slightly prominent, but it thankfully doesn't dominate the entire nose.

Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and some woody tannins. The feel is a bit larger with coffee, bitter chocolate, black cherries, and wood spices.

Overall: This was a bit of a disappointment. It was still quite drinkable, but in the company on the whole, it just fell a little flat.

This is a wine that keeps on never wanting to come out and play for me. This was decanted and open for almost 6 hours before I got to it and it was still tough as nails.

Nose: The nose was a bit of a contrast to the other Donjons as it showed a more primary and red fruited base with red cherries, licorice, garrigue, herbs, leather, raspberries, some earth notes and a touch of tobacco.

Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and some persistent tannins. The structure still signals a more youthful style to this along with a more primary take of red cherries, licorice, raspberries, herbs, tobacco, and some leather notes.

Overall: This still needs some downtime. The underlying materials are fantastic, but this has yet to get into that next gear that will make it extremely good.