I had considerable reservations about this wine - previous bottles (the last in 2022) having been rather disjointed. But this bottle was very good. 5 hour decant and served at 16c it had wonderful balance and freshness. Plenty of fruit left but not at all heavy - a pleasant surprise give the vintage. There is a burnt edge to the fruit - not unpleasant however. Plenty of life left on this showing..
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From 375 ml… Wild bouquet, minty-menthol, whiffs of vintage port like figs and incense, lifted with a touch of spirit. Spicy, mentholated palate, quite light and bright with some kitschy-rubbery layers, not much fruit or structure left. Interesting, intense and long, but probably was better before the fruit evaporated.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Don't pay too much attn to my "rating"- this is only my 2nd aged CdP, after an early-2000s (not sure of year) BdB Cuvee des Felix some years ago- plus I don't drink a lot of CdP in general. This is also my first from this producer. I enjoyed this Beaucastel very much, although it was just a little too aged for my palate.
Drank from 375ml. The nose is pungent and VERY mature- it's sort of a strange combination of "pruny", leathery fruit and a general sense of being "high toned" rather than dark and deep. A boatload of earthy old leather, some prune and fig, a touch of slightly fresher plum paste, and something like a bloody mary (one commenter wrote "tomato"- yes, it's subtle, but it's there on the nose for me.) It's complex, but I didn't really fall in love with the nose; just never fully got past the pruny old fruit.
But- the palate was one of the rare examples for me that was better than the nose. Much less obviously aged, with surprisingly elegant and fresh plums and a heavy dose of baking spice, understated but really harmonious. Tannins are silky at this stage without feeling watery at all, and the acidity/balance/depth are all really harmonious.
Not revelatory, and there were aspects I didn't enjoy as much as others- but I'm really glad I tried it, and there were components that were gorgeous. For my palate, this needs to be enjoyed now, and I probably would have liked it more 5+ years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vertical tasting of the 2003, 2012 & 2017. Varied notes amongst the group. The 2003 was a really fun and interesting drink for me (90). Really funky on the nose. Most of the fruit is gone, but enough earth and minerality with the slightly overripe fruit that was left to leave a very solid wine to me (group notes were all over the paste, with 2 folks calling it there favorite and two folks dumping it. Drink soon if you have it. Overall third out of 3. The 2012 was really nice (93) and was a prototypical CdP GSM with lots of red fruit (but not a fruit bomb) integrated with some earth and pepper elements. Clear #1 of the group of 3. The 2017 was showing a little less of the same general aspects of the ‘12 (91). Probably will benefit from a couple more years in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 1 hour, closed at first but wine continued to open over the next 3 hours. Herbaceous hints (rosemary and thyme), toasted almonds, liquorice, earthy, gamey notes, this wine just keeps on giving. Definitely at its zenith but in very good shape. Some brick red on the rim. Great legs. 3 more bottles in the case and I’m looking forward to drinking them over the next year.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Interesting and complex nose of animale, roasting meat, black cherries with thyme and rosemary. Full-bodied, this has a good texture for a 2003 CdP, with present but supple tannin and flavors that largely echo the aroma but there is definitely a big, gaping hole in the middle. That said, it's interesting and good. 91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Kraters for the trenchermen (Les 2 Garçons): Continuing with the mini-Rhone flight, this actually had a rather Bordelais-style nose. Rich but not too warm or at all soupy. Classic CNDP red fruit and garrigue. Very tasty, but lacked the thrill (and the element of surprise!) of the Clusel-Roch.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Perfect Time to Drink. Not getting any better. Very full nose, ripe fruit with spices and herbs like you normally know them from classical Barolo. Medium bodied but still very complex. Long finish, especially the tertiary aromas show very well. Outstanding CdP, even though it’s considered a lesser vintage, after 20 years it really shines.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
13th of 24, splash decanted, perfect cork and level, not the best of bottles with gravelly dry tannins slightly dominating the fruit (no obvious flaw) and well off the standard of the previous night's 99, still attractive of course and I suspect just a phase, still upside, 10+ years. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Half bottle off Deep Cove Chalet wine list. PnPd, could have benefited from a gentle decant into narrow neck / narrow base vessel but the Beef Wellington wasn’t getting any hotter. Pronounced mature aromatics of a wine in its waning years, particularly a 375ml bottling. Lovely cured and dried fruits with a palate assault of savoury nuance - mincemeat, tobacco, tapenade, damp leaves, and roasted tomato. Only medium bodied but a complex wine with medium plus finish. Drink up. The alchemy has ceased. Lost 25-35ml of volume due to residue in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Loved it. In a great window now. Lots of fruits. Some minerality, though I expected a bit more. Went well with charcoal grilled steaks and wings. Tannins seem to compliment the wine. Nice finish and length.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
First of 6 magnums. Last glass best yet first glass was great. Touch of heat but nothing burnt and no rubber. For the year a triumph. But objectively fantastic. Much better than expected. From magnum best to wait further because still improving. A testament to a classic style of winemaking rather than the over extracted monsters begat by Parker scores
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Delicious and very accessible right now. Drank with grilled lamb burgers on first really spring evening in Chicago. Great pairing. No need to wait any longer on this wine, just give it a half hour decant and its beautiful.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle was delicious, it required a couple of hours to find its balance. we drank with grilled lamb chops and it complemented them perfectly. Best aspect is balance, fruit/acidity. its quite mature, but so satisfying
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Monthly Tasting Group HWS; Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (By VD and @ VD): Dark berries, herbs, garrigue and some smoky impressions in the bouquet. On the palate still juicy dark and red berries, garrigue and some smoke as well. Elegant acidity and slightly drying tannin. Complex wine which is ready now. Beautiful drinking stage. The wine will not develop for the better anymore.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Unfortunately this one had severely oxidized. Nose was almost unbearable. Still, surprisingly, some life left on the palate, but not much. Disappointing as the cork was in great shape (at least what appeared to be) and the bottle fill was darn near perfection. So it goes with this hobby…
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted and tasted after an hour - very unbalanced and not pleasant. Left overnight and on retasting was better. There is plenty of fruit left but it is very astringent. Maybe it will improve with time, but I have my doubts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
3rd magnum of 6, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, consistent with better bottles (cf March) , nice blend of sweaty saddle mourvedre with peppery crunch of grenache, cool fruit, energetic and remarkably youthful, though more backward than bottles, expect more harmony and some liquorice notes to emerge, some upside in this format, 10+ years. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Outstanding wine that shows as youthful and incredibly balanced. 13.5% alcohol perfectly balances out the lush fruit (still loads of fruit), nice acidity and ripe tannins. This has tons of life left and should get better as it is just starting to show some tertiary traits. Drink now (if you like tannins and lush fruit) through 2038 or so.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pale garnet in color with a half cm clear rim. This is a mature CdP nose that is still quite expressive with mushrooms, smoked meat, and leather. The palate is a little thin, likely due to the poor vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Ruby color with some bricking on the sides. The palate shows great acidity, with hints of licorice and raisins, plums and cassis, decent tannins to balance the fruit and acidity, a medium ending with some oaky notes. This bottle might have a little past its peak, but it was still very enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
12th of 24, opened 2 hours, perfect cork and level, underlying flavours as before BUT fruit stripped and drying on palate with merest hint of taint on exit, drinkable but not right......G (15) but more normally F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
For a hot year this does not show it. Beginning to show some tertiary notes. But the fruit is still present. Went perfectly with braised rib. Same note as last year
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Best of my three bottles, but not great. PnP’d and drank over 2hrs. Medium red color with rusty edges. Rust, blood, and floral elements on the nose. Wine is thin with olives, rust, and subtle prune elements. Definitely past prime. Medium finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 1 hr (didn’t need to). See through ruby color, medium viscosity, beautiful tart cherries, bananas, vanilla, kiwi aroma. Medium Dry, light-to-medium body, highly mouth watering, cherry & white nectarine taste, light-to-medium tannins. Overall stick-your-nose aromatic fragrant, delicious wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
11th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, another fine showing of this consistent wine, mourvedre notes now more apparent and less aggressively peppery than hitherto, more to my taste than the Bosquet on same night, no rush, limited upside. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
10th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, slightly less impressive than recent bottles and magnum, probably down to food match, plenty of energy, possible upside yet. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Served blind. This was the oenotheque-version, seemed quite fresh - and not all marked by the vintage. Round and in harmony, garrigue, sweet Grenache, perfectly open to drink. #Møntergade #PB&HÅ
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Hard to believe that a wine from such a hot year can be so balanced. Drank over three days and the wine kept improving. Complex dark red fruit nose with just a touch of secondary notes. The palate is balanced, intense complex with very fine ripe tannin and long finish. Very enjoyable but will get better, I suggest another 3 to 5 years at least to reach maturity and it will go much longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
All good here. 3rd bottle of 6. 18yrs old and drinking well. Deep core and some signs of age on the rim. Juicy, ripe and full of earth and spice on the nose. Blackberry, Christmas cake and leather on the nose. Refined, country fruit, rich quality on the nose. 2003 went down as a hot year and you can feel some of this with the very ripe fruit on the nose and palate. Tannins and acidity still holding everything together and the fruit is ageing well but still has signs of the original primary fruit. No longer a young wine but will go on and on.... Quality producer, hot year, great wine, years left in it.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aging beautifully. Enjoyed with Christmas dinner. Decanted 2 hours and could have used 2 more. The bright flavor really started to shine after 3+ hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wimpish Christmas (La Trompette): Exactly what you'd want from mature CNDP - deep, spicy, notes of pipe tobacco. Nicely balanced and very tasty, but somehow overshadowed by the power of the Mordoree.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Consumed over two days. Notes from day 2, but impressions from day 1 were similar. Decanted.
Dark red fruit, camphor and eucalyptus on the nose. Fruit is very prominent and dominate from start to finish. Tobacco, new leather, green peppercorn in the mid palate. Tannins are present but well integrated and do not overwhelm - very balanced! Long finish. This a really nice wine and it is holding up really well, barely showing signs of age. It is drinking really well right now, but should last a few more years. As a side note: reminiscent of the 1995 CDP from the same producer, though I think that the '95 was even better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Garnet-purple. Nose of garrigue, red plum, cherry, earthy tones. Layers of somewhat candied sweet plum, black cherry, blackberry, garrigue, and black pepper on the palate. Moderated tannin and acidity. Moderate length finish of blackberry, strawberry, and garrigue. Excellent tonight but needs more time to integrate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1st of 6 magna, opened 45 minutes, perfect cork and level, as my 8th bottle noted in April, surprisingly fresh, cool fruit for an 03 with a nice peppery grenache bite, upside yet, years of life. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Impromptu wine tasting with Deyon on our terrace in Singapore - la vie est belle. Popped and poured from the bottle. Beautiful deep purple Color, no way you give this wine 17 years. Same on the nose, overwhelming cherry flavor. With some time you start to smell mushrooms, earth, liquorice, and some of the alcohol this warm year brought. So much freshness in the mouth. Med+ acidity, full body, high alcohol, Med+ flavour intensity, soft tannins, Long finish. Cherry, mushroom, liquorice, earth, a bit of salinity, this wine has a perfect balance and structure. As you taste it’s still so fresh and young. Wow. As time evolves you get the secondary And tertiary notes adding to the complexity. Great effort and strongly recommandable.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium dark red with brownish hue; light caramel and spices; soft, silky, elegant, spicebox, lightly smoked light caramel aftertaste, light expression; do not think it will get any better, seems to be in a prime spot, fine tannins at the end; well-made, well-aged
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
8th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, as Feb bottle and another demonstration of the consistent excellence of Beaucastel, there's a freshness to the wine which belies the vintage and this bottle showed more of the peppery Grenache than the more usual sweaty saddle quality of mourvedre, years of life left. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Light crimson in color. 13.5% ABV. Clean nose of red fruits, roasted nuts and herbs. Medium body with ample acidity. Really compelling on the palate with bright, fresh fruits. Flavors of kisch, cassis and Herbes de Provence. Medium length on the finish. My expectations for this bottle were low given the vintage and an under performing bottle a few years back. I was stunned at how well this showed. What a treat! Best over the next 1-2 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
7th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, as last August's bottle, still young and aggressive though showing less pepper, fruit ripe and full but not baked, should last 10+ years. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of butyl, barnyard, black cherry, and red cherry, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty once you forgot about the nose, the nose blew off during the evening only a little and was still present 3 nights later unfortunately, mouth filling fruit, and a long finish. Uploaded photo.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From magnum bought at auction. Full ruby red grading to blood orange at the rim. Sweet red dried strawberry predominates on the nose. Some cedar, menthol, leather, rosehip, rhubarb and licorice on the nose as well. Dried red fruit on the lush, full bodied palate. Palate is waves of cedar, dried rosehip, cranberry, rhubarb, red plum skins, black tea and worn leather. No pruning of the fruit. Very smooth. Perfect acidity. Almost imperceptible tannins. The finish is deceptively fruit filled and tart, yet dry and very long. Quite lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
6th of 24, opened an hour, perfect cork and level, showing more sweaty saddle mourvedre than last bottle in July 18, otherwise little changed, more class and nuance than otherwise fine Mordoree Liracs on same night, scope to improve further. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Expressive black fruit with perfumed notes of leather, mushroom and forest floor. However, after a two hour decant, this wine becomes beautifully integrated with more fruit forward notes of black cherry and spice. Nicely complex and surprisingly enjoyable to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted at opening. The wine shows a slight bricking colour at the edge and has the look of a fully mature wine. The bouquet shows Provencal spice and some black fruit. Very appealing, richly-flavoured Chateauneuf with depth and surprising acidity. Better than I expected for the vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Slightly hazy medium garnet color. Clean nose of medium minus intensity with aromas of tar, cedar, cooked black fruit, mushrooms, farmyard, leather. Wine is fully developed. On the palate it is dry with medium minus acidity, medium minus tannins, medium alcohol, medium body and medium flavor intensity of dried blackberry, wet leaves, earth. The finish is medium minus. This wine is well past its prime, too old. not suitable for further aging.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
HDH auction at Spiaggia; 4/12/2019-4/13/2019 (Chicago, IL): For the vintage, the only sign of overripeness is on the finish where you pick up some raisiny qualities. It's a relatively restrained wine, given the constraints of the appellation and vintage, with quite a bit of overall density. Quite clean as well; no unwanted funk or things like that.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very expressive, intense nose. Garriguey, lots of herbs and spices, roasted red fruit. On the palate, medium plus acid, medium plus alcohol and medium bodied. Really fresh, clean. Dried Herbs and spices, stewed fruit, rustic in a very refined (!) way. Drinking well now and has a ways to go, best from the bottles I've tried so far.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
light to med depth red. Red berries with a dark core, earth leather and game, all in a silky package, drinking so smoothly, but ending with loads of very fine tannin. Lovely complexity, perhaps on the warm side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Outstanding! Dark fruits, tobacco,leather. The tannins are very well integrated but the wine still has great backbone. 1 one hour double decant was all this needed. Perfect color.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of black cherry, red cherry, earth, and tobacco, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, mouth filling fruit, at peak, little future cellar improvement potential, long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
this was a bit of a hot mess. it has aged into a melodious cherry liquor. it had no hard edges and was pleasant enough with a steak. it is just too alcoholic without a backbone for me. drink em
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
As per previous recent examples, the 2003 Beaucastel is in a good place right now. No decant, none needed. Dark fruity nose, tannins fully resolved, soft on the palate and a good, 20 sec finish. Pleasant hints of coffee and leather. Surprisingly less structure than I've come to expect from Beaucastel. The acidity is pretty low on this example, the result of a very growing season, I expect. Drink up. I suggest while good now, it will begin to decline in a couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Strong nose with red fruit and secondary notes of glycerine (in a good way), leather, floral and tobacco. Palate as per nose with 20s finish Tannins fully resolved. Perfect with steak at Delmonico's NYC. Wish I had more, but I would drink this up in the next 2 to 4 years tops.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
W rumpsteak and eggplant stew. Yummy combo. Fresh looking wine, with smokey nose upon opening. Fruit slowly began to take over. 1 hour decant. This became all structured cherry flavors, with some background music of spice. Very good. I agree with the drink up crowd. No reason to wait till it turns 20. We had next to leftover Montus 2001 Prestige. Very different.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened this with some hesitation after reading other reviews but found an adorable Chn-de-P, probably just after its peak but still a vital wine. Classic ageing beauty but should most probably be enjoyed asap.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cork was in perfect condition. Spice, earth, garrigue with some dried fruit on the nose, some leather and wood coming through. Medium plus acid, with moderate tannins. Lots of fruit and herbs on the palate, really fresh. At its peak, but see no harm waiting for a couple of years. Pleasantly surprised for a not great vintage. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted alongside a 2012 and found this to be past its prime. Interesting, about 1/3 of the group preferred the 2003, but I thought the fruit was over-ripe. Still some things going on that make this an interesting comparison if nothing else.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Coravin Wow - what a lovely nose soaring from the glass as I poured it - cherry, herbs, spice and sweet fruits. Deep red with a watery rim. Lively and refreshing - sweet fruit with spice and some herbs. No astringency and no harsh tannins that I associate with this vintage. Long sweet finish with only a hint of heat. Plenty of life ahead of it but so enjoyable now. A lovely surprise
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Much to my surprise after reading the other reviews, my well-stored magnum was extraordinary. Dense, powerful, full of life, this bottle was flavor-packed. Best Beaucastel I've ever had. Drank at a modest family dinner, expecting light weight. Not in the least. A bomb. Flavors consistent with many notes here, but so much more power. Upside of bottle variation!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
At tasting. Brief note. Nose and palate are in good alignment with each other showing big sweet red fruit that remains juicy and somehow soft, ground coffee, dark soil, and plenty of extract. As big and young tasting as this is it remains very well focused with taut acidity and firm drying tannins. Long finish remains simple but there is definitely underlying material that will come with more age.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
5th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, not as complex as the excellent 01 on night, but attractive with nicely nuanced peppery (Grenache?), baked plum fruit. Just F+ (18).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Disappointing. Did not hold up well at all and it was properly cellared. Evolved to an oxidized mess, not drinkable. A shame for such a highly touted vintage.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Met a friend to share a bottle or two and a nice Italian byob. Color reminded me of the dark red brick you see stand out against the lighter bricks. Poured next to a 2009 cab that was deep and purple neat to see the contrast. On the nose it started out with some nice lured fruit strawberry, cherry and some nice mix of wet soil that was just turned. As the night went on I picked up some nice subtle sweetness reminded me of sugar glazed cherry pie from a particular far stand on the east end f Long Island. Great memory, great company, great food and lovely wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty aromas of dried red fruited herbs with sweet strawberries. Soft rich red berry fruits with wikd flowers. Well balanced and drinking lovely. Nice showing on day two!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
4th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, essentially as my July 17 note, not as full or velvety as previous night's 98, perhaps with better balance and nice acid lift, about 5 years from peak drinking when I would expect to upgrade. F (17.5).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Ruby red in color. 13.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, iron, leather and Herbes de Provence. Medium body with light to medium acidity. Not showing any of the roasted notes commonly associated with the '03 vintage but not showing much fruit either. Cherries, kirsch and plums on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Lacks the concentration and power I associate with Beaucastel. Good but somewhat disappointing. Drink over the next year or so.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of black berry, plum, and sage, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, slightly subdued fruit, mouth filling, at its peak in my opinion so time to enjoy your cellar efforts, and a long finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened 1 hour before serving-Better bottle than the last one. Showing more acidic lift and fruit. That said, the tannins are still quite strong and are out competing the fruit at the moment. I would recommend with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank after decant and over the course of 2 hrs. Dull ruby-garnet in the glass. Fine sediment, with bricking and edge showing violet and blue at the rim.
First tasting: Rich honeysuckle, prune, orange leaves and rosewater florals on the nose. Smooth front palate shows red fruit bright acidity. Relatively closed mid palate brings forward round tannins and mild pucker through the finish. Back palate shows oak but is a little thin and doesn't have its heart into it, like an aging courtesan with f-you money. May be past her prime, but don't dare speak a word of it or she'll cut you.
Second tasting: Nose is starting to sing from the glass, plums, cassis, sandalwood and black fruit. Acid on the front palate is still present, but mid palate now shows deep blue-black fruit, leather mixed with silky tannins and a longer, more sultry finish. A much denser mouthfeel with real structure, almost merlot-like weight through the finish. Damn she sexy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1st of 24 (+ 6 magnums), pnp, perfect cork and level, deepish, glossy red, notably viscous, little development; muted nose, cherry, some leather, tobacco and earth; fullish, long and persistent, reasonably concentrated, harmonious if without any strong personality, nice touch of heat of south not the vintage, barely ready and a tad bland as yet. F (17.5).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Full, sweet, red fruit, some sweaty saddle, red licorice with a slightly tannic bite on the long finish. Wow! Gets even better with air. That lovely garrigue note starts to be revealed. Just a lovely wine overall. And then with more time cedar or sandalwood right at the end. A very classy wine for sure!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark hue, dark garnet/purple, rich. Pencil lead, prune, licorice, sediment in the pour, not as spicy as the '04, mellow, soft, plum/fig, dark fruit. Least favorite of the night-- but still a nice wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Thoroughly enjoyed this wine. I decanted it for about an hour prior to dinner which definitely helped. The nose was pretty closed on opening, but after the time in the decanter opened nicely revealing dried cherry and currant, leather, smoke, tobacco, and earthy minerality. The palate is holding up nicely and delivered nice fruit, lots of mineral/smoke notes and overall had lovely balance and depth. Not much upside in my opinion, but should hold still for sometime.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Le vin deception de la soirée. Il aurait pu jouer dans les feluettes de Michel Marc Bouchard. Trop fluide,trop facile à boire et manqué de punch. Je dit pas qu'il était mort mais j'ai bu quelques Beaucastel qui m'avait bien séduit par sa fraîcheur. 16/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Quite fresh, young, intense, mineral notes, no signs of 2003-heat whatsoever; this has a firm core of fruit and it is far from developed in full, I shall have to stayu away now - it is lovely, but there is so much more to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of dark Chinese sauces, barleywine, and lavender. I'd be lying if I said I perceived fruit here. There is no hurry to drink this wine, though I think the flavors will become increasingly dark and intense with age.
CdP is a hell of a wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Holy smokes that nose is strong. Super dense wet earth dank strong nose. Palate is also crazy strong. Dense dark prune flavor. I mean, this is overpowering. Definitely needs food. With steak much better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Store forventninger der ikke helt bliver opfyldt. Moden i farven. Lidt funk, frugt, kompleks, rund og harmonisk i duften. Moden vin tænker man. Lidt over the hill eller oxidering i duften der indikerer at vinen ikke er helt på toppen. Smagen er harmonisk men mangler lidt. Elegant old school der ikke skriger CdP. Kan ikke finde den overmodenhed som andre anmeldelser skriver om.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
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.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty garnet red. Pure cherries on the nose. Lovely thick, robust texture. Delicious notes of red cherries and chocolate. There is a wonderful bitterness in the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprise of the tasting. There is a little bit of stewed fruit on the nose, but it gets drowned out by lovely kirsch, walnut, spice and some citrus. The palate shows bold flavors, plums and dark fruits. Not much acidity, so it comes across as a little flat and monolithic, but definitely better than many CdPs from 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine is finally fully mature and drinking great now. It needs a good 2 hour decant, but then it is kicking on all cylinders. My palate has recently turned away from CDP, but this wine just brought me back. Black cherry, menthol, white pepper, and of course a touch of classic Beaucastel brett barnyard. Finish is smooth, but mouth puckering with juicy kirsch liqueur. This renewed my faith in Beaucastel, especially since it was from the '03 vintage, which is not my favorite.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From magnum. At first, this felt overripe and pruney/raisiny. After some air, this transformed into a lovely Beaucastel. Tons of garrigue and a hint of spice make this a wonderful wine in a great place right now. This is nicely integrated at this point, perfectly balancing fruit and more tertiary characteristics like forest floor, leather, tobacco, and anise. Its 12 years of age are starting to show near the outer edges with some browning. There is nothing quite like an aged Beaucastel. Must buy more.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle was delicious from the first sip. Bottle had lots of fruit, some pepper, some garrigue, and a round mouth feel and long finish. Reminded me of how lovely CdP can be - once again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I was expecting this to have some cooked fruit or raisined elements that I've found in other 2003s, pleasantly it didn't. Balanced, and lovely. Plenty of freshness and acidity. Great pairing with several Indian food dishes. The mouvedre really stood out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
rich, quite local, only hints of the heated vintage, this is more Beaucastel than 2003 and I quite like it, acidity is bright, the fruit is solid, the wine is very much alive, the wine is balanced and has many years to go; probably better in five+ years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened around 11 am and decanted for 45 minutes. Put back in bottle and corked it up. Started consuming around 8:00pm at a CDP event. This one showed very well. The wines of the night were two 1995s and an 1989...just hard to compete with a good aged CDP. The 2003 is drinking well now.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened and decanted-drank about 4 hours later. Barnyard on nose, with dark fruits medium body and firm grip on opening good finish. After decanting the tannins had softened and more fruit to the body. some tar and leather notes with the dark fruit, definitely has a few more years, but not sure if it will evolve firther. Great match for the cassoulet.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. First of a case. Nice aroma but a bit thin on the palate with a moderate aftertaste. Some garrigue but not too much. Not up to the quality level of the 98 or 00 but still an enjoyable CdP.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
rather disappointing - first bottle tasted of this vintage . too thin and lacked the richness and length of other years . Must decant the next time as very heavy on sediment .
The wine evolved over the course of the afternoon and only after an hour or so did it start to open and reveal its native character and style. Dark brownish garnet colored, medium bodied, complex dark berry and spicy black cherry fruits were muted initially but opened up after an hour, accented by pain grillé (toast), smoke, leather, with hints of creosote and licorice on a moderate tannin lingering finish.
Not enought time with the wine to rate. Nose is quite heavy and musty and for me it feels dominated by very ripe Grenache aromas. Bay leaves, ripe plums, sweet cherries, olives and slight funk. Not a lot of brett or wood. Very ripe on the palate with round tannins, heavy warm alcohol but with a good intensity and length. It's not how I expect Beaucastel to taste, but an interesting and high quality wine still.
just ok. Its nice upon opening, cherries, strawberries, minerals, tight, and dry... but then sort of picks up this weird honey note and becomes flabby with a short finish.. yikes..
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty disappointing actually. I concur some some of the other CT tasting notes. This not what Beaucastel should taste like, especially from a very good vintage. The wine was drinkable, so it wasn't a bad bottle. it just wasn't that great.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
this bottle needed a decant of a couple hours or so. popped and poured tasted watery, alcoholic juice. it opened up a little bit after 30 minutes. I should have waited. disappointed with this bottle.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
From a half bottle. Decanted 2 hours prior to drinking. A touch stewed on the nose and palate but better than my last bottle a year and a half ago. All the pieces are integrated and I didn't get any heat with this bottle. The tannins are beginning to fully resolved. Again notes of Kirsch and dark fruit. This was just okay. Drink now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A very good effort in a tough vintage, this wine is still quite young, but is beginning to develop well. The nose is filled with blackberry liqueur, kirsch, anise, crushed rock, and tobacco. Complexity continues to increase with air. The palate is very good, with surprising freshness for 2003, lots of depth and density of flavor. The tannins are well integrated, but still provide nice structural presence. This will likely get better for another 5 years before hitting its full peak.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 2 hours. It was paler with faint brown rim and was raisin and prune on palate. There was the scorched grapeiness of grenache and overall this started as a decent but not very worthy drink. The color and cooked fruit flavor seemed just shy of the oxidation seen in mishandled or heated wine. Most interestingly, these oxidative characteristics faded by hour 4 leaving a much more interesting and satisfying wine. Started an 87 finished a 90
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had some difficulty defining what was wrong with this bottle. Tasted lots of different things like the rest in this forum. But something was just not right! I believe the lack of tannins and acid. And that in combination with an abundance of fruit, coffee, liquorice etc. just isn't right. Decanted about 2 hours.
Wild, feral, unusual bouquet here, charged with kirsch, wet fur, must, brambles, sandstone, sour orange, decay, old leather, a whiff of VA. Remarkably "old" and complex for such a young wine, but this profile will turn off the squeamish in a hurry. I like it. The palate is similar, sweet and savory with meat and lingonberries, lean and bright in style overall, but still layered with intensity and a long tangy aftertaste of autumn. Reminds me a lot of Musar. This drinking great already, but has upside to spare. I wish I'd bought a lot more than I did on release.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with little color change, tiny bit of sediment; loads of cranberry, leather, older but well built and lot yet delineated; sweet and tart red fruit on the palate, cranberry, dried leaves, licorice, blood orange, almost fig; delicious, well balanced and fresh for '03.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great aromas with forest floor, garrigue and leather. Compact and concentrated, with rather rustique tannins and low acidity. Less elegant than 01 and 07, tasted on the same occasion. A great wine, nevertheless.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was surprisingly primary for being 10 years old. Fruit is very dark and fresh and it took decanting and warmth to showcase the full expression. Good amount of acid and a bit of tannin, but neither overwhelming. Hold at least 2-5 more years before consuming.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
savory, leafy notes give way to spice and sweet ripe red fruit. palate is leaner than what I expected, but pleasantly elegant.
We finished the bottle too fast. Sweet fruit and fig notes remaining in the bottle cried out for patience. decanted for 30 minutes. more decanting recommended.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a beast, still a little early to drink. At first there's a little beat of heat, strong blackberry fruit and an amarone-like resinous quality. After decanting and a little time alone, the palate starts to round out and it comes into focus; earth, cola, hillside scrub, leather, smoke, and blackberry fruit. Give it 5-8 years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The wine looks Purple colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Plum, Prune, and Raisin. It tastes like Prune, and Raisin. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
Had an extremely ripe prune flavor with a high alcohol heat. Was full but thin in texture. Did not meet expectations for price point.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lovely nose, good fruit and decent length. Certainly not over the hill, but underwhelming for what it is. Lacks complexity. I loved this wine when it was very young, but right now it's merely OK; not very exciting.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
3rd time I've had this, and overall a very good bottle, Predominately anise and white pepper, great subtle leather and smoke coming in. Wonderful nose. palate is tart and alive. Drank over 4 hours, purchased from auction.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Visit to Beaucastel (Chateau de Beaucastel): Nose has some intriguing spicebox, but is marred by some stewed notes. Palate is fleshy and finish is a bit short and alcoholic. Didn't really get my attention.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Third and final bottle since last January. Not as good as the 2nd, which wasn't as good as the first. In decline and not much fun to drink. Aroma is nice at the pop but weakens rapidly. The palate is tart, thin, alcoholy, and has a touch of green meanies. Not the vintage of Beau that you're looking for. 4+9+11+5 = 80
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very nice. Almost amarone like. quite complex. For a higher score mid palate would have had to be more powerful. Drinks very well now, but will probably keep for 5+ years. 3 = Very good
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark fruit, silky tannins, leather, and tobacco exploded from this wine. Very well integrated wood, rich and full. Still full of life and seems to be at its prime right now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
(at Arnoldo's) less than expected from Beaucastel and from this vintage... Aroma & palate hardly resemble a classic CdP, particularly this one, moreover that the wine was decanted for 3 hours...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
TN's all over the place. No read on what to prepare for. Classic nose, barny, dried heres, tight small red berries in the hot sun on the nose. Likey. Grenache is dominate, then the minerality of the Syrah comes out swinging... Even from the .375 is tight, young, beggn" for more time & air. The kirsch, the red dried fruit just tightens on the palate. This is really nice.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
MUCH better than last two, especially with hours of aeration. Still ultra ripe earthy some forest leaves, but nice spicy dark fruit this time and much more minty/refreshing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine was not at all what I was expecting after reading other reviews. Truly a pleasant surprise. This was the first time I had sampled the 2003 and did not expect anything special. I took a bottle out for dinner and had it decanted on our arrival. It was then served about one hour later with a lobster bisque and held up very well. It had a wonderful aroma on the nose. The taste was very soft with hints of blueberries and a smooth although not very long finish. I believe the bottles in my cellar are beginning to reach their pinnicle and plan to begin serve and consume them over the next two years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Slightly spirity on the nose. Kirsch on the palate. A bit dilute. All in all, not the best Beaucastel. Will let the remaining bottles lay for at least one more year before I check in again.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Far better than the last split of this I had, which was swampy and gone.. But still verrrrryy pruney and overripe, with some brett and VA. Some nice notes tho of bitter chocolate, mocha, espresso...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A disappointing evening of Beaucastel 1995 - 2005. (Snooth.): Shows the thick texture and plush mouthfeel that the '98 used to have, but is more red fruited than black fruited and is ultimately rather unbalanced, with the alcohol sticking out way too much and the fruit being a bit one-dimensional. While relatively low in acidity, there is more than I expected. Finish is short and a bit flat. Serviceable, but that's about it and certainly not worth the tariff. B.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Uh oh, took a risk on some half bottles at a blowout price ($22), and this is pretty funky/overripe nose/tired. And surprisingly light (shut down as said below) on the palate. Will let it settle down a bit and see if it improves.
Next day -- horrendous, absolutely gone, dirty sewage water and wet moldy leaves. Pray for bottle variation.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was better than I expected. It took quite a while to unwind, moving from sulky, to intensely spicy on the nose (but shut down hard on the palate) to finally relenting. Spicy and intense but with more more nerve and freshness than I would have expected, especially given the somewhat odd taste I had back in 2006. I don't think this is ever going to be a truly great vintage of Beau, but I also think it will have its own unique charms.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Slowed ox for 2 hours. It has some confit fruits on the nose. Palate is fresh and peppery. There is structure and freshness to it, and was pretty good with duck confit. Some 2003 Chateauneuf are very jammy with a lot of heat. This Beaucastel managed to be fresh and structured, maybe to a detriment of some complexity. Lovely.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Weekly tasting group #053; 4 x 3 red 2003 (@ VD): Dark blood red. The bouquet shows sweet ripe berries, cherries, raisins and herbs and spices. On the palate a sweet start, ripe fruits, raisins again, sweet spices, chocolate, soft tannin and bitterness and great length. A beautiful wine, early maturity now and several years ahead.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I found this bottle dull to drink. The wine was half dead. It possessed a decent bouquet but was insipid on the palate and had very little finish. A very boring bottle of wine. I hope this was just this bottle, but from the notes of others before me, that may not be the case.
However, a week later I opened 4 more bottles at my grandson's christening and the wine was singing. Each bottle displayed a great sense of place, balance and a lengthy and elegant finish. Bottle variation, heky it happens all the time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lots of funk and leather (borderline TCA?, or is that the infamous Beau Brett?) which seems common in the reviews. Softly muted bouquet and fruit supply, saved by an excellent balance on tannin and acidity, but this is nothing to get excited about in terms of CdP. By day 2, the brett and barnyard have weakened and it drinks much better. It's well made and all considering the vintage, but boring as hell. I would be ecstatic if this were a $15 daily quaff, but that is certainly not the case. 5+9+14+6 = 84
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Immediately after opening: Horse/barnyard nose with no fruit, Very light fruit on the palate, thin, one-dimensional.. No finish to be found. Made me sad for a Beaucastel. Threw in a decanter and hoped for improvement with air. One hour later (pour from decanter): Slight brett nose.. perhaps the nose has thinned even further?.. Still one dimensional and thin on the palate. No fruit to be found. And is that TCA or is that just the funk of Beaucastel making an appearance?. Still not pleased. One more hour in the decanter and in the glass: TCA/funk has become more obvious in the nose and taste. I can't decide if this is corked or just dead. Perhaps it is a bad bottle, perhaps it is over the hill.. It is not obviously corked but it isn't on par either. It's drinkable but I hope for better things with the remaining bottle. Probably will not wait much longer to find out as I feel this bottle may have already peaked.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
On first opening - whoa!, this is pretty stinky: faint brett, horsey, soiled barn stall, no sign of fruit whatsoever. But, with just a few more minutes in the glass (w/out any swirling) some bright red fruits, spice, iodine, sour milk, bay leaf, oregano and red licorice notes begin to appear. And in just a few more minutes, this thing has me completely sucked me in, and I'm loving it. Some of the tn's had me a bit worried that this might be less than enjoyable, or perhaps mediocre at best, well, I got one of the good bottles, this is on point and getting better with each minute in the glass. Good toward very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Disappointing, unbalanced and too mature. Although I'm not a big fan of the ordinary cndp from beaucastel I had expected a lot more from this Wine in a year loke 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bright red color; lean nose, mint, slight hint of raspberries, some mildly burned caramel; elegant mild lean attack, mild sherry-like taste; mildly tannic; elegant and agreeable, not pushing itself towards you just being there; limited complexity; long aftertaste with lingering caramel
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I've had CdB dating back at least to the 1989 vintage. In my experience, there can be a lot of bottle variation. The 1989s were luscious but tight when young, started opening up beautifully by 2002-2004, and then fell off a cliff and were flat and lifeless. I'm not sure if they ever recovered. This 2003 vintage was even worse than that. Not clearly flawed, but just flat, little fruit, not a pleasure at all. I'm going to be generous and mark this as a flawed bottle, but I'm glad I didn't have any more in my cellar, as it may just be an over-the-hill CdB.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dried roses, lovely damp floral potpourri and yam on the nose. Very elegant, sweet blackberries and sweet sugary notes on the palate. Its surprising for a beaucastel. Different and atypical. But nevertheless still a good drinking wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mega-Pointer Dinner (Yuan Wei Deep-Sea Garoupa, Serangoon Road): This was a strange Beaucastel - a very un-Beaucastel Beaucastel if you know what I mean. On first guess, most of the table thought Amarone, and even though I guessed CdP on second try, my guess was one of the more modern producers. If anything, this tasted more like a Tablas Creek (Beaucastel's venture in Paso Robles, California) than your typical middle-aged Château de Beaucastel. The nose was atypical rich an showy, with a serious waft of dried roses alongside thick aromas of raisins and blackberries touched with a little touch of lavender and garrigue and some damp earth. Very attractive, but quite a bit sweeter smelling than usual. Same thing on the palate, with its plump, fleshy flavours of blackberries, plums and prunes along with a slightly dried fruit, raisiny bit and a twist of licorice at the finish. Lots of black-fruited depth here, and the tannins were a bit rough, less refined than usual. Yet for all that, this was still very well-balanced and blessed with a certain classiness to it big frame. Not the best Beaucastel, or the most typical, but it was still a nice wine in its own right. Still on the youngish side with all that fruit and tannin, I would give it another 4-5 years more before trying again. WA95 on release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
WOW, WOTN agains 2005 Clos Des Papes, 2005 Vieux DonJon, and 1990 Guigal Hermitage. Changed from a fabulous aroma of fruit and spice (some said ash), to include licorice. Great fruit at the first pallet that dimmed on the mid pallet but came back nicely on the finish. Could still improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Showing a bit of age, but drinking very well right now. Still plenty of red/black fruit, though it seems to have faded a bit. Some nice earthy notes and few lingering tannins. I think it still has a few more good years ahead of it, but I don't think I'd wait more than 5.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
My first Ch Beau. Popped and followed for about 6 hours. Dark ruby with a dash of brick, 90% opaque, clear and sound. Nose could use a little volume but is lovely nonetheless, with flora, garrigue, pepper. and spice. Great balance and mouthfeel with limited flavor and structure. Feels mature but should be able to go on for a few more years. 5+10+16+7 = 88
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful and mature bouquet with garrigue. On the palate round and melted tannin. Concentrated and ripe fruits and good freshness. Beautiful and complex wine. Not really sure about when to drink this; maybe now, but it also might improve a bit with some more ageing. (This blind note has more or less the same conclusion as the bottle I tasted in Jan. 2011)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nice counterpoint, at 13.5%, to a much bigger '03 CDP that we had earlier in the week. A few minor secondary components come through over time, as does a little earthiness. Enjoyable now, with a long life still ahead of it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Halloween bottle @ Log Haven. Showing both rich fruit and noticable amounts of maturity, though certainly on the young side. My first Beaucastel, so I cannot comment on quality in relation to house style or other vintages, but quite enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just starting to get mature. Decanted and waited 2 hours, and only slowly it became really good. Black Berries, peppers and spices, chocolate, liquorice, acetone and strawberries. Long aftertaste. Lovely and well balanced. Still many years to go. Maybe a little too "New World" compared to older vintages.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Seems to have aged much more slowly than my last bottle. The same savory flavors were there, but much less apparent under a heavy blanket of dark fruit. I was surprised given my previous experience, but clearly I opened this too early.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wednesday Night Blind - February 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): I love Beaucastel, this was a bit atypical to the lineage as it was very "New World" in my opinion, not that that is a bad thing for me, lots of ripe fruit, grilled meat, only a hint of barnyard funk, a really enjoyable wine overall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lovely nose of smoke, earth, white pepper, and dark fruit, more of the same on the palate, touch simple, very good but not great, medium body, and medium finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Monthly Tasting Group LTB 2010-10; Châteauneuf-du-Pape (By VD): Herbs, spices, black fruits and earthy impressions in the bouquet. Same on the palate. Although there is a firm amount of bitterness and tannin, the wine is more mature than expected. Start drinking it now and see how it develops over the years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 2 hours before drinking. Cherries and plums. Earthy with some barnyardy funk. Drank well with dinner but would benefit from a bit more age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Did not decant. Four years since my last taste has done this wine some good. It's showing a little bit of that Beaucastel funk that I like on the nose. Inviting aromas of cherry, plum, and dates. A bit of leather. Doesn't seem roasted or overripe at all. Tannins are starting to integrate well. Full bodied, lush palate. There is a little bit of heat on the finish. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how this wine has aged. Drinking pretty good now and I imagine four or more years in the cellar won't hurt it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of iron, meat and dark, dark fruit. Blackberry, smoke and tar. Seems a bit rustic right now. No more open on 2nd day. Wait 2-3 years to try next bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really very good: consumed over two nights, stored at cellar temperature between tastings. Fantastic nose of raspberry jam with some subtle iron and spice. Medium weight on the palate, perhaps slightly better on the second day. 2003 was very hot and while the wine has powerful fruit and is a bit one dimensional , it has nice acidity with silky tannins. In my opinion, a somewhat under-rated wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped and poured. Showing lots of iron and dark fruit. Fairly straightforward. Not overly impressive right now and I remain skeptical about future improvement.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Three bottles tasted with consistent notes. Surprisingly, none of the roasted/stewed character or raisiny flavors that were so prominent in bottles tasted two years ago (and in 2006 at the domaine). Well-structured and ripe, with some earthy/spicy secondary flavors that are beginning to come out of hibernation, firm supporting acidity, ripe tannins, and a long finish. Rather pleasantly un-2003-like, perhaps because the high amount of Mourvedre tolerated the heat well? Or maybe this just needed a few years to calm down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very tight and oaky out of the bottle ... decanted and after 2 hours started to soften up a bit. Unfortunately, had to leave at that point, so left 1/2 btl at the wine store. Will need feedback for 2-4 hrs later
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Denne var veldig rustikk i starten, men med en time i karaffel så begynte ting å komme mer på plass. Nesten ingen aroma til å begynne med, kom mer røde bær, kirsebær etterhvert. Ble drukkket både med og uten mat og den fungerte helt klart best med. Tror denne har potensiale til å øke 2 - 3 poeng med noe mer lagring.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still a too young to consume. Open for only an hour before drinking... needs more time in the glass.... outstanding potential. Deep purple/dark red... spiciness needs to mellow somoe more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Initially light with some fruit; developed later with smooth rich black cherry, blackberry, raisen, licorice; just kept improving and broadening; very noticable soft silky tannins; long smooth finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
YES, but why? So, this confirms my view that there is no point opening any Beaucastel for 10 years. It is often mute, at an earlier date. Seven years in this is a deep red, but hardly any nose (straight from the bottle). I beat the crap out of it in a decanter and it raised some limp liqourice; giving off a moderate heat. Put it away til 2013, at the very least.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Right now, this is a bottle I have to be in the mood for in order to enjoy. Previous posters suggest an overdone, overripe rendition. I don't get any of that. In fact, this bottle initially seems a touch closed, a touch thin, a touch stupid.
The nose is one of the highlights of this bottle. All kinds of spice, leather, meat, matchstick, mineraiity. Really forward and provocative.
On the palate, less body and richness than I expected given the nose. My impression of this is that it's nicely balanced but a bit young and closed. Long finish that winds into a bit of raisin on the back, but for me this note is way in the background (though it does have a lingering presence)..
I'm thinking another 5 years will prove beneficial. 91pts now, with some decent upside going forward.
Update: I left a glass of this on the counter overnight, decided "what the heck, let's give it a taste to see if it's dead". Wow!! Not dead. In fact, it's really in a great place after the mistreatment (about 12 hours of air in a glass). The palate picked up a lot of richness and much more expressive. 93 points Day 2.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Of the 6 bottles (375ml) we have tasted over the past few years, 4 performed well (91-92 points), however, 2 (including this one) were subpar.All were stored side by side in a 55 F cellar since release. Strange bottle variation, not corked, but this showed tart cherries, acid, and tannins. Little fruit up front and not giving more. The nose was muted with a little cherry, earth, and raisins. Tasted over 3 hours to see if it came to life. A number of 750's are waiting for approval in the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Jan 2010 Connecticut Wine Tasting (Henry's House - Fairfield CT): Wine "A" of the tasting, tasted Blind as all the wines in the 1st flight were. I had guessed a Syrah based French wine from 2005 as the nose had that fruit and spice component. The color was a dark ruby and it had just started to open up on the palate with some red berries. I gave it a 91 and most folks scored it around that or a bit higher. It showed its youth and did soften a bit when we sampled it later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Birthday dinner with herb crusted rack of lamb. Decanted for 2 hours. Nose was pretty tight and did not offer up as much as I expected. This very hot vintage shows clearly in this Beaucastel. Overipe fruit and scorched earth notes. Some interesting complexities including ground coffee, pork sausage, and sage leaves. Heavy, chunky, dense, and rustic...lacking the polish I have experienced in other vintages. Very good but not great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Gorgeous palate of stewed plum and dark spice, wild mushroom and leather, a little fat, a little heat, with a nose of dark blackberry syrup, more fruit and less stink than I like in a Beaucastel. This is not subtle, and I can think of more interesting vintages of this, but it's big, delicious and will drink well for some time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Light ruby color and somewhat cloudy. Dark nose of tar, camphor, blackberry, spice, and wood. Sharp on the palate, with roasted flavors, not too much fruit (a bit of dark berry liqueur), good freshness and tannins. The finish was good, but unremarkable. This was solid, but by no means mind-blowing. We'll see how another bottle is in a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blackberry, mulberry, but also slightly sharp nose; power and spice, to the sweet'ish side; slightly sharp also in the mouth. Quite soft tannins. Believe will improve further, but relatively nice now, except for the "sharpness".
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine was decanted and poured. It was tasted side by side with the 2003 Pegau CdP Cuvée Réservée. Unfortunately this wine failed to show as well as the Pegau. This wine on the bouquet and palate came across as stern, closed and unyielding. Time in the decanter failed to coax the wine into a more accessible profile. Based on this showing it is not clear if additional bottle age will resolve the stern, unyielding personality.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
FLAT. Nose was muted and there was no finish at all. Mid palate with really pruney. Far below the quality of the last bottle I had over a year ago. This was dead in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
It just seemed overripe with clunky tannins. We also opened an '03 Gouges Chene whatever. In flavor profile, though one is Mouvedre, etcetera, etcetera etcetra, and the other is pinot, the flavor profile was very similar. Roasted plum--oh, I mean prune--flavors, chalky tannins, scorched earth. Not entirely unpleasant but I have better ways to spend my money. (So, why you ask, did I buy a second bottle? I'm wondering too.)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Upon opening I thought this bottle of 03 Beaucastel was corked. No fruit was present showing nothing but funk on the nose. After an hour the wine gave up a touch of raspberry and oak with something tertiary in the background but was anything but aromatic. On the palate the Beaucastel was thin like an 02 Cote du Rhone. It wasn't corked but needless to say Michael and I were disappointed. I'm in the habit of bringing a second bottle to put into play in case this happens. It's understandable that from time to time a bottle can be off as wine is an evolving and fickle creature. The other bottle? A fabulous 1996 Grande Damne.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
On the nose, elegant and complex aromas. The palate initially seemed hollow with a total absence of fruit, leaving a spiced, slightly bitter aftertaste. With time, the wine fleshed out a bit but was still dominated by spice elements and very little fruit. Possibly this is due to heat damage or a reflection of the hot climatic conditions.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
beautiful red ruby. surprisingly high pitch nose for a chateauneuf du pape. Smoke wood(quite a bit of it) marzipan, pine tree, and of course red, dark berries, and fig(!!). On the palate, very pleasant and again surprisingly refined texture in the mid palate, and a taut finish which I am sure would fade away with years and leaving the wine a lot more interesting than what it is now. A very nice wine indeed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This seems unusual for Beaucastel. It's lite with some red berry, italian spice and a touch of camphor. It is not unattractive at all right now; it just seems truncated. From the taste, look, and appearance of the wine I would say it has been heavily manipulated with fining and filtering. Like other wines so treated there's no there there. It lacks presence. Wine is unpredicatable so maybe it will surprise with time but as President Lindberg said: "I have a doubt."
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had on the same night as a '96 Grange, and this was completely outclassed, but still good. Fruit forward nose with raspberry, garrigue, and hint of smoke. Smooth round palate, very focused, adding some fig, leather and tobacco notes, with quite a bit if heat on the back end. Finish was medium in length, not especially complex. I'm with some others questioning the aging potential of this wine, seems a little too hot and lacking structure to be as long lived as other Beaucastel's, but still a fruit forward, well made, enjoyable wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
We had in a mini-Beaucastel vertical (1998-2004), and this was a favorite. Color still dark, nose was fruity, no barynard, and quite fruit-forward in the mouth. Unlike other notes, we didn't find it thin, closed or out of balance. Interestingly, the other notes suggest a thinness or lack of fruit, and of course 2003 was the hot year with very high alcohol and extract. We were on the lookout, but at this stage, it did not seem too hot, or out of balance. Most felt it would age well, an often-mentioned concern for the vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A closed and tight CdP. Nose shows some spice and just a hint of menthol. The palate shows bing cherry, fig, and is slightly overripe. Needs a couple of years to bring it all together.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark ruby n color, with raspberry ganache, and a perfumey nature not dissimilar to the '01, albeit less fine. Less pruney of a nose than I would have expected based on others' take on this wine. iodne and blody meat, with a meaty-mushroom thing going on. I really liked the minerality and darkness of this wine. 92 pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened and poured. This is my first Ch. Beaucastle CdP that I picked up on a closeout. Compared to other CdP this was a weak effort - the wine appeared ripe and raisiny with very little in the way fruit. The wine did begin to flesh out towards the last half of the bottle and became more interesting. Next time I will open and decant for a couple of hours to see if it improves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opens with aromas of dark fruit and an earthy pungent note but quickly shows a pruny/raisiny aroma. Lots of dark fruit on the palate, with firm tannins and a subtle sweetness. Ends with drying tannins and a raisiny edge to the fruit. $80.99.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
When we first opened it, lots of tannins, and we could hardly taste the fruit. Obviously this wine will be around for a while. Decanted for about 45 minutes, and got fabulous softness, but still with background. Lots of raisiny stewed cherries, but did not taste the heat of the alcohol that some have mentioned. Definitely from a very hot vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasting Group Dinner w/ Kevin Sidders - Steaks & Bordeaux (Our House): Thick, ripe black cherry, pepper, plum, and garrigue flavors. On the palate, this comes across as roasted and raisined, although this bottle wasn't as stewed and hot as the one I tasted at the domaine last year (see TN). A forward, low-acid Beaucastel that kind of grew on me. I honestly have no idea how this will age, although my instincts are to drink these sooner rather than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bordeaux at Siggy's: As if I needed more wine at this point. Popped and poured. The color is a deep, dark red. The nose this is a slightly obnoxious blend of pepper, ripe cherry fruit and garrigue. Tastes much better than it smells to me at this point, featuring more cherry fruit that is very ripe, but with good underlying structure. Flavors are impressively expansive. The finish is nice, but is extremely tannic at this point. I'm more optimistic about the long term prognosis for this wine, but will plan to keep my hands off them for many years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Excellent, big wine. Fruity with limestone, tannin, grape and lead and blackberry. Still much too young, though highly pleasant. Surprisingly good pair with swordfish at request of our guests.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Excellent bottle yet again. This seems like the Mourvedre content is high because I get an almost Bandol-like flavor spectrum on this wine, but it stays true to Chateauneuf with lots of powerful garrigue and kirsch. Finishes amazing, and the amount of sediment on this bottle at this early stage of development is remarkable. I have not tasted many 03s from CdP, but this remains my favorite by far. Just a great experience and for me, this is a wine I can't have enough of.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for one hour, fantastic bottle of ripe CDP. The vibrant nose of considerable complexity. On the palate a big, ripe wine with a range of flavors. The finish is so long with many different tastes. Everyone loved it. Thanks to Mr. Capilouto for picking this up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Février 2008: dégustation verticale du Château Beaucastel (Steaf Frites Saint Paul (avenue Laurier)): Verticale Beaucastel: Nez plutôt résineux, caoutchouc, fruit rouge confit. Texture agréable mais le vin est tout d’un bloc, le fruit en retrait face à la structure. N’a pas la belle richesse du 2004 pour contrebalancer l’alcool. Creux en milieu de bouche, pas beaucoup de fraicheur. Franchement décevant pour la propriété et le prix, même si le vin est loin d’être mauvais. 87 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I picked-up this bottle at a local shop for a fairly decent price and decided to pop it tonight. Honestly, at this point, my expectations weren't that high. Boy, was I wrong. This wine is drinking extremely well at the moment. Great notes of raspberry, tobacco, smoke and earth. Extremely lush mouthfeel with excellent structure. Continued to get better in the glass as the evening wore on. I'll be looking for more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted a glass only from 0,75 and decided not to buy. Not to say it's bad, but seemed somewhat out of balance and certainly not to my taste, also not sure it'll improve much. Dark, concentrated, big though not over the top. Lots of sweet fruitiness: dark berries, plums.. Very surprised that some other tasters didn't find any barnyard scent here, I thought it obvious. Also some leather, but all the aromas did not mix up (yet?). Tannins were rather soft, but accidity was on the lower side and it really seemed too hot and quite harsh. Especially in the aftertaste which was just very alcoholic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Stumbled upon the last five 375 mls at a big wine clearance sale -- $22.99 per. I was going to buy the 750's at $55, but this obviously was a better deal. So I popped and poured one last night at my in-laws. Went great with a leftover portion of Angus beef short ribs that I had for lunch at Commander's. First impression of the 03 Beau: I was a little surprised this was not as big as others I have -- 96, 98, 99, 00 and 01 vintages. The nose was initially closed -- probably notl that surprising considering it just came out of a 375. But on the last glass I picked up dark berries, licorce and forest-y scents. A little lean but again the last glass was the best -- probably because it got more air time. I didn't find this as tannic as described by some tasters, but to each his own. Had a nice finish - 30+. My luck to be in the right place at the right time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I think this is starting to close down a bit. It is much more lean and ungiving than the previous 375 ml I had 8 months ago. Lots of forest brush, slightly angular raspberry, tar, and hugely tannic finish. This started to open a bit after an hour in the decanter, and undoubtedly will be better. If you must drink, decant for hours. It was much less impressive than the 1998 served as a comparison.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped and poured from a 375ml bottle. Deep, dark, and brooding. This wine seems almost atypically dense for Chateauneuf with what must be a high percentage of Syrah and Mourvedre. Nose is slightly closed at first but opens up with some time to reveal dried herbs, blackberries, currants, and licorice. Superb texture and long finish round out this experience. My favorite 2003 CdP that I have tried so far by a long shot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very, very good. Thought this would be difficult to drink due to the heat of 2003, but it really is nicely balanced. Good powerful wine, but does not overpower the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Australia and Rhone at Haukeland Sykehus (Haukeland Sykehus, Bergen, Norway): Dark aromas on the nose. It is a bit too sweet and artificial for my taste. Licorice. The nose is like an Australian, rather intense but sweet. A bit pale on the front palate. Some pepper. Neither is it very long. This is disappointing.
In the glass it is gradually improving with air. After a little while it is showing more of both tannins and acidity. It is probably a good wine that is closed up right now and need some time yet before it should be drunk.
Had another glass after the tasting: Less sweetness on the nose. Lots of tannins and much more power on the palate. It has opened up a bit, but is still very young. Now it is very good, and will probably improve immensely from cellaring.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Purple. Roasted, syrupy aromas here: the primary impression is of strawberry jam, but I also find hints of robotusin cough syrup. Seems stewed and unbalanced with a hot and slightly bitter finish. And the wine is also angular: the components don't fit tother at all well. Overall, this wine is very disappointing -- reminds me of Vieux Telegraph, a wine I typically don't like! I have 9 left but will probably try to think of some way to get rid of most of them...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
At a tasting at the Wine Club SF. Dark purple in color; sweet raisin and must on the nose and palate with a short finish and drying tannins. Very disappointed with this. Mediocre to Fair.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
An interesting and controversial wine. I enjoyed this with Jason Goldberger over the course of 3.5 hours. At first it was very ripe with lots of raspberry jam, heat, bramble and stemminess. Not a pleasant nose. The palate was better but hot and quite stemmy. However, over the course of the meal it transformed, integrating the alcohol. Lots of intense, brambly Grenache, much less stem, much less heat. I went from thinking that this was interesting but flawed (86 points) to thinking that it actually is a reasonably strong wine (89-90 points) that may well improve considerably over the next decade. I would be surprised if this is ever a great vintage of Beaucastel, but in time I suspect it will improve and be a very nice, ripe vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Chateauneuf du Pape BYO Dinner (DUO, Miami): CdP BYO dinner at DUO, Miami. Best wine of the flight. Like all the 03's rich forward fruit, but lacks the complexity of the Pegau, or the Chaupin. All of the 03's drink exceptionally well now, and I believe like the 2000 Bordeaux's will also mature exceptionally well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep ruby color. Briary, brambly, briney nose. Well integrated and somewhat soft nose. Nice mouthfilling palate, with a touch of dryness. Did not have the deep, intense flavors of the VT or the Cristia. Refined tannins and a medium finish round out the wine. This was not as intense as the others tasted, but I liked it the best. It has progressed from my first taste earlier in the year, and does not show any sign of bretty, horsey flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
drank this before its times. This will be an incredible wine but it was too tight even after 1 1/2 hours of opening. Even later in the evening it didn't open up. thougth it would do well with rack of lamb, however, it needed more age to unfold its licorice and smoke and herb flavors that are prevalent in this wonderful wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Remember that old Wendy's commercial with the three old ladies and poke and prod a hamburger and finally one exclaims, "Where's the beef!?" Well, this is kind of like that except instead of "Where's the beef?" it's "Where's the Beaucastel?" This is nice southern rhone wine that is heavy in grenache. There's lots of kirschy fruit, with some earth and leather in the distant background. The palate is well structured and has a nice level of acidity with a medium length finish. 50 + 5 + 11 + 16 + 8. After about 10 hours of air this is drinking nicely. On initial opening it's a kirschy one dimentional mess but after several hours it gains complexity. Overall, a good wine but lacks some of the character that I love in Beaucastel's wines.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Another disappointing 2003 (especially from one of my top 3 favorite wineries anywhere)...hot, disjointed and simple. What I love about Beaucastel (mouvedre) are all the secondary flavors...yes young but I do not think they will ever appear in this wine. Hopefully proven wrong....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aromas of ripe raspberry fruit, eath, and spices. Dense and silky on the palate, this shows more ripe fruit with some distinctive Beaucastel funk. Compared to some other great Beau vintages, this is not as rich, seeming a tad hollow on the mid-palate, and shows a bit of heat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner with Pat G (Pluckemin Inn): Notes from memory. Decanted for an hour, drunk over the following hour. This was very un-Beaucastel like. All about the fruit, with little, if any, of the typical earthiness. Wonderful fruit - raspberries predominantly. Very nice wine - pure, lush, fruit-driven. Nicely in balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From a 375ml. Dark ruby red color. Impressive and exotic nose of spices, tree bark, red and black fruit, dried herbs, plum and figs. On the palate, the wine is massive and chewy, but doesn't display any sweetness that one may anticipate based on the nose. There's a lot of old world-ness and freshness to this wine that is imply stunning. The fruit is pure and laser focused and shows tremendous depth. This wine imparts an almost cooling sensation on the tongue and the texture is super-silky. The finish is long and shows off some pretty fruit, leather, and more dried spice. Lush wine that will only get better. My favorite 2003 CdP so far and I am bummed not to own more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deeply saturated purple, almost impenetrable. Sweet aromas of cassis, red plums, cinnamon, toffee, hints of game. Very rich and dense, chewy, concentrated sweet fruits, long finish with substantial tannins. Acidity low compared to "classic" beaucastel. Alcohol a bit high, but no other signs of the hot vintage at all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted at the domaine. Minimal notes taken. I remember thinking I liked this tasting better than the bottle tasted at our Beaucastel vertical. Very tannic. Long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
France Trip Part 1 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 6/16/2006-6/17/2006: Tasted at the domaine. Smoky notes and stewed, raisiny fruit. This wine had a roasted character and showed some heat. Compared with some of the other 2003s we tried on our visit, this bottle was not impressive.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted at the domaine. Less impressive than a very nice bottle of the '03 a few months ago (see TN). Slightly raisiny. Dusty, chocolatey tannins. A bit hot. It's somewhat lacking in freshness and balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasting Group Dinner - 12 Years of Beaucastel (JP's American Bistro, Minneapolis): This wine undoubtedly suffered in comparison to the much bigger Alban, but it was hardly a meek wine in its own right. Deep black/red color. Kirsch/garrigue, with a slight herbal note on the midpalate. Fiercely tannic. Promising, but clearly needs more time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is our third bottle since purchasing two cases last year. Dense, deep, rich flavors of berries and leather. The nose has cherries and a lushiness about it aromas. Grenache should always be this good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Consumed at an offline featuring 2003 CdP. Slightly corked. Good fruit hiding under the musty notes. Can't evaluate since the musty profile was playing hide and seek. I will pass on future deals.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very fruit forward for a Beaucastel bottling. Drank over 2 days from magnum and never got harsh tannins nor a feeling of need for long-term aging. Would guess that 750's are ready to go and best over the next 6-8 years.... will probably consume my other maggie in that time period as well. Drink young.. not our typical Beau.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clearly a different blend from the traditional Beaucastel. The nose clearly shows the grenache character of the vintage with cherries, spice and a little bit of earth. Not even a hint of barnyard.
On the palate, the 2003 is lush and just a tad rustic, medium to full bodied and goes through several waves of darker fruits intermixed with some earth and spice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From half bottle picked up a week and a half ago. I generally have not gone wrong with Beau over the years, but this is a different animal. Was diying to try over the course of an evening. Initially no nose, decanted, bit of funk, left it for a bit. Started to open, really only got green tar(which is what i have been getting from these wines on release since 1998, much different than the 88/90/94/95. Very dense black color. During dinner, taste of sweet cherry cough syrup, round and light, you can taste the heat/dried fruit, harsh on the back end - I think it was the high alcohol, niether my wife nor I were impressed. My last glass an hour later, the nose is about the same, but the palate has stepped up a few notches. Now I get the big plush mouthfeel, the intense still cherry fruit with the rhoney black licorice and leather bite and some tannins on the finish. Yes, this is now showing Beaucastel!! Yum. But this is a dark brooding Beau, not really my fav, and will drink early. Will be a take it or leave it wine. The higher alcohol means I do not want to drink it old. Start - 89 pts, now 93, tasting it a bit like i remember the 1990 was young, but not the nose - yet? The appeal is the very solid fruit. I got a case, I will not buy more, but nor will I sell them.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tastes great even this young but also has so much potential for aging well over the next ten years. The hot 2003 vintage shows up in this big wine with very ripe fruit on the nose and tightly wound tannins that need some time to unwrap themselves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep black ruby. Super ripe nose but not overripe. Black fruit confit, provencal herbs, leather and a distinctly salty aroma. Sweet and rich with herbs d'Provence, blackberry liquer and earth flavors with a stony undertone. Very big tannins but thery are ripe. This seems quite dosjointed now but should harmonize into something quite nice over the next 10 to 20 years. Not quite as defined as the 2001 but still quite an impressive mouthful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From a 375 ml bottle. Deep, somewhat sweet red raspberry / cherry fruit. Good weight / texture / structure. Reminds me a bit of the '98, which I tried a few times just after release. The person with whom I shared the bottle thought that this was perhaps slightly more impressive than the '98 when it was released... We were both impressed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
a monster of a wine. all wood when first opened, but slowly sharp stabs of over ripe strawberries peaked through. later, it began rounding out...somewhat. the wood settled after a few hours. very good wine. needs lots of time to reach its peak
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Despite being three years older, the colour is almost identical to the 2001, possibly just a little bit more mature. A deep, deep nose with loads and loads of blueberry fruit. There is none of the usual Beaucastel farmyard and brett on the nose. A lovely attack. Round, full and very expressive. Lots of excellent character. Really lovely fruit with great concentration. Spicy tannins appear towards the finish. Very length. Very Good Indeed++/Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
3/27/2024 - TheGreenFrog wrote: flawed
This bottle was slightly oxidised although drinkable. I had a wonderful bottle only a month ago so there is bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/23/2024 - TheGreenFrog Likes this wine: 92 Points
I had considerable reservations about this wine - previous bottles (the last in 2022) having been rather disjointed. But this bottle was very good. 5 hour decant and served at 16c it had wonderful balance and freshness. Plenty of fruit left but not at all heavy - a pleasant surprise give the vintage. There is a burnt edge to the fruit - not unpleasant however. Plenty of life left on this showing..
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2024 - liber wrote: flawed
14th of 24........CORKED.......Grrrrrrh!!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2024 - blanquito wrote:
From 375 ml… Wild bouquet, minty-menthol, whiffs of vintage port like figs and incense, lifted with a touch of spirit. Spicy, mentholated palate, quite light and bright with some kitschy-rubbery layers, not much fruit or structure left. Interesting, intense and long, but probably was better before the fruit evaporated.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/13/2024 - Mike1369 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similiar experience to my notes in the summer of 2023. Thoroughly enjoyed with great company.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/12/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Don't pay too much attn to my "rating"- this is only my 2nd aged CdP, after an early-2000s (not sure of year) BdB Cuvee des Felix some years ago- plus I don't drink a lot of CdP in general. This is also my first from this producer. I enjoyed this Beaucastel very much, although it was just a little too aged for my palate.
Drank from 375ml. The nose is pungent and VERY mature- it's sort of a strange combination of "pruny", leathery fruit and a general sense of being "high toned" rather than dark and deep. A boatload of earthy old leather, some prune and fig, a touch of slightly fresher plum paste, and something like a bloody mary (one commenter wrote "tomato"- yes, it's subtle, but it's there on the nose for me.) It's complex, but I didn't really fall in love with the nose; just never fully got past the pruny old fruit.
But- the palate was one of the rare examples for me that was better than the nose. Much less obviously aged, with surprisingly elegant and fresh plums and a heavy dose of baking spice, understated but really harmonious. Tannins are silky at this stage without feeling watery at all, and the acidity/balance/depth are all really harmonious.
Not revelatory, and there were aspects I didn't enjoy as much as others- but I'm really glad I tried it, and there were components that were gorgeous. For my palate, this needs to be enjoyed now, and I probably would have liked it more 5+ years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2024 - carlsport Likes this wine: 90 Points
Vertical tasting of the 2003, 2012 & 2017. Varied notes amongst the group. The 2003 was a really fun and interesting drink for me (90). Really funky on the nose. Most of the fruit is gone, but enough earth and minerality with the slightly overripe fruit that was left to leave a very solid wine to me (group notes were all over the paste, with 2 folks calling it there favorite and two folks dumping it. Drink soon if you have it. Overall third out of 3. The 2012 was really nice (93) and was a prototypical CdP GSM with lots of red fruit (but not a fruit bomb) integrated with some earth and pepper elements. Clear #1 of the group of 3. The 2017 was showing a little less of the same general aspects of the ‘12 (91). Probably will benefit from a couple more years in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/30/2023 - WinemanCS Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hour, closed at first but wine continued to open over the next 3 hours. Herbaceous hints (rosemary and thyme), toasted almonds, liquorice, earthy, gamey notes, this wine just keeps on giving. Definitely at its zenith but in very good shape. Some brick red on the rim. Great legs. 3 more bottles in the case and I’m looking forward to drinking them over the next year.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2023 - jeffjohnsonjj@hotmail.com wrote: 91 Points
This bottle was very mature, almost port like. Lots of very fine sediment, decant carefully
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2023 - no leashes wrote: 90 Points
Drinking very well, with red fruit, dried herbs and a hint of olive. Decanted a half hour.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2023 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 91 Points
Interesting and complex nose of animale, roasting meat, black cherries with thyme and rosemary. Full-bodied, this has a good texture for a 2003 CdP, with present but supple tannin and flavors that largely echo the aroma but there is definitely a big, gaping hole in the middle. That said, it's interesting and good. 91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2023 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Kraters for the trenchermen (Les 2 Garçons): Continuing with the mini-Rhone flight, this actually had a rather Bordelais-style nose. Rich but not too warm or at all soupy. Classic CNDP red fruit and garrigue. Very tasty, but lacked the thrill (and the element of surprise!) of the Clusel-Roch.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/26/2023 - Juliano23 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfect Time to Drink. Not getting any better. Very full nose, ripe fruit with spices and herbs like you normally know them from classical Barolo. Medium bodied but still very complex. Long finish, especially the tertiary aromas show very well. Outstanding CdP, even though it’s considered a lesser vintage, after 20 years it really shines.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2023 - Knotcho wrote:
It was on the jammy side. Should have decayed for a bit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2023 - kenv Likes this wine: 94 Points
WCC Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blind Dinner (The Chef's Table in Café Capriccio, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted for 30 minutes around 5:30pm.] Nose of red and black fruit. Huge, young, but balanced. Long and delicious. Should drink well for at least another decade.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/26/2023 - olioli wrote: 92 Points
Great balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/20/2023 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
13th of 24, splash decanted, perfect cork and level, not the best of bottles with gravelly dry tannins slightly dominating the fruit (no obvious flaw) and well off the standard of the previous night's 99, still attractive of course and I suspect just a phase, still upside, 10+ years. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/9/2023 - Canoehead Likes this wine: 93 Points
Half bottle off Deep Cove Chalet wine list. PnPd, could have benefited from a gentle decant into narrow neck / narrow base vessel but the Beef Wellington wasn’t getting any hotter. Pronounced mature aromatics of a wine in its waning years, particularly a 375ml bottling. Lovely cured and dried fruits with a palate assault of savoury nuance - mincemeat, tobacco, tapenade, damp leaves, and roasted tomato. Only medium bodied but a complex wine with medium plus finish. Drink up. The alchemy has ceased. Lost 25-35ml of volume due to residue in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2023 - Mike1369 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Loved it. In a great window now. Lots of fruits. Some minerality, though I expected a bit more. Went well with charcoal grilled steaks and wings. Tannins seem to compliment the wine. Nice finish and length.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2023 - TomC1369 wrote: 94 Points
First of 6 magnums. Last glass best yet first glass was great. Touch of heat but nothing burnt and no rubber. For the year a triumph. But objectively fantastic. Much better than expected. From magnum best to wait further because still improving. A testament to a classic style of winemaking rather than the over extracted monsters begat by Parker scores
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2023 - andrewdl Likes this wine: 97 Points
Outstanding out of bottle and got even better as dinner wore on.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/15/2023 - CRL Stc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking nicely. Still has some time left. Needed an hour to open up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/9/2023 - anstruletz wrote: flawed
Corked :(
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2023 - no leashes wrote: 92 Points
Delicious and very accessible right now. Drank with grilled lamb burgers on first really spring evening in Chicago. Great pairing. No need to wait any longer on this wine, just give it a half hour decant and its beautiful.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2023 - EMMF40 wrote: 95 Points
This bottle was delicious, it required a couple of hours to find its balance. we drank with grilled lamb chops and it complemented them perfectly. Best aspect is balance, fruit/acidity.
its quite mature, but so satisfying
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2023 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Monthly Tasting Group HWS; Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (By VD and @ VD): Dark berries, herbs, garrigue and some smoky impressions in the bouquet. On the palate still juicy dark and red berries, garrigue and some smoke as well. Elegant acidity and slightly drying tannin. Complex wine which is ready now. Beautiful drinking stage. The wine will not develop for the better anymore.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/5/2023 - Bjweiss wrote: flawed
Unfortunately this one had severely oxidized. Nose was almost unbearable. Still, surprisingly, some life left on the palate, but not much. Disappointing as the cork was in great shape (at least what appeared to be) and the bottle fill was darn near perfection. So it goes with this hobby…
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2023 - acyso wrote: flawed
Saturday hangout at Domaine (Chicago, IL): Oxidized.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2022 - oakville72 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Definitely showing its age. Oxidation in the nose and flavors, but still enjoyable if not overwhelming. Drink up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2022 - TheGreenFrog wrote: 89 Points
Decanted and tasted after an hour - very unbalanced and not pleasant. Left overnight and on retasting was better. There is plenty of fruit left but it is very astringent. Maybe it will improve with time, but I have my doubts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2022 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
3rd magnum of 6, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, consistent with better bottles (cf March) , nice blend of sweaty saddle mourvedre with peppery crunch of grenache, cool fruit, energetic and remarkably youthful, though more backward than bottles, expect more harmony and some liquorice notes to emerge, some upside in this format, 10+ years. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/20/2022 - trumpet60201 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Outstanding wine that shows as youthful and incredibly balanced. 13.5% alcohol perfectly balances out the lush fruit (still loads of fruit), nice acidity and ripe tannins. This has tons of life left and should get better as it is just starting to show some tertiary traits. Drink now (if you like tannins and lush fruit) through 2038 or so.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2022 - nhericks Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very long and spicy, wonderful scent. I don't think this wine has an awful lot of live left, but it is in a good place at the moment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2022 - brianwu0812 wrote: 95 Points
開瓶10分鐘有明顯的糖果味及紅色莓果味，單寧柔順，約一個小時到達peak，開始轉為木質調，另外半瓶隔夜喝香氣依舊，後面則出現皮革及動物皮毛味。開瓶後兩小時內表現都不錯。
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2022 - jgreco wrote: 89 Points
Pale garnet in color with a half cm clear rim. This is a mature CdP nose that is still quite expressive with mushrooms, smoked meat, and leather. The palate is a little thin, likely due to the poor vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2022 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ruby color with some bricking on the sides. The palate shows great acidity, with hints of licorice and raisins, plums and cassis, decent tannins to balance the fruit and acidity, a medium ending with some oaky notes. This bottle might have a little past its peak, but it was still very enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2022 - liber wrote: 85 Points
12th of 24, opened 2 hours, perfect cork and level, underlying flavours as before BUT fruit stripped and drying on palate with merest hint of taint on exit, drinkable but not right......G (15) but more normally F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2021 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
For a hot year this does not show it. Beginning to show some tertiary notes. But the fruit is still present. Went perfectly with braised rib. Same note as last year
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/10/2021 - jyensan Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Seems out of balance. Drank over the course of 3 hours. OK, but not great.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
8/20/2021 - PMJak11 Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Best of my three bottles, but not great. PnP’d and drank over 2hrs. Medium red color with rusty edges. Rust, blood, and floral elements on the nose. Wine is thin with olives, rust, and subtle prune elements. Definitely past prime. Medium finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/19/2021 - bucktooth22 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hr (didn’t need to). See through ruby color, medium viscosity, beautiful tart cherries, bananas, vanilla, kiwi aroma. Medium Dry, light-to-medium body, highly mouth watering, cherry & white nectarine taste, light-to-medium tannins. Overall stick-your-nose aromatic fragrant, delicious wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
11th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, another fine showing of this consistent wine, mourvedre notes now more apparent and less aggressively peppery than hitherto, more to my taste than the Bosquet on same night, no rush, limited upside. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/4/2021 - PMJak11 Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Same as previous bottle, not good. Somehow the wife liked.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/3/2021 - SteelerFan wrote: 93 Points
Great showing. Long smooth on the palate, rich dark fruit. Still relatively youthful.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/23/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
10th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, slightly less impressive than recent bottles and magnum, probably down to food match, plenty of energy, possible upside yet. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/5/2021 - beatles wrote: 93 Points
Served blind. This was the oenotheque-version, seemed quite fresh - and not all marked by the vintage. Round and in harmony, garrigue, sweet Grenache, perfectly open to drink.
#Møntergade #PB&HÅ
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2021 - Milos Likes this wine: 93 Points
Hard to believe that a wine from such a hot year can be so balanced. Drank over three days and the wine kept improving. Complex dark red fruit nose with just a touch of secondary notes. The palate is balanced, intense complex with very fine ripe tannin and long finish. Very enjoyable but will get better, I suggest another 3 to 5 years at least to reach maturity and it will go much longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2021 - Barnsbar Likes this wine: 95 Points
All good here. 3rd bottle of 6. 18yrs old and drinking well. Deep core and some signs of age on the rim. Juicy, ripe and full of earth and spice on the nose. Blackberry, Christmas cake and leather on the nose. Refined, country fruit, rich quality on the nose. 2003 went down as a hot year and you can feel some of this with the very ripe fruit on the nose and palate. Tannins and acidity still holding everything together and the fruit is ageing well but still has signs of the original primary fruit. No longer a young wine but will go on and on....
Quality producer, hot year, great wine, years left in it.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/23/2021 - ebattster Likes this wine: 90 Points
great. drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/13/2021 - PatriDup wrote: 84 Points
Getting flat with age
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2020 - SadEdjo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Like-new cork. Dark colour. Polished red fruit with ... a hint of jalapeño? Nice red fruit, resolved tannins. Lots of life left
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2020 - Dionysusx Likes this wine: 95 Points
Aging beautifully. Enjoyed with Christmas dinner. Decanted 2 hours and could have used 2 more. The bright flavor really started to shine after 3+ hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/22/2020 - citizen1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
ready and drinking well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/19/2020 - mukden wrote: 89 Points
No. Tired drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2020 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wimpish Christmas (La Trompette): Exactly what you'd want from mature CNDP - deep, spicy, notes of pipe tobacco. Nicely balanced and very tasty, but somehow overshadowed by the power of the Mordoree.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2020 - Aris1a Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consumed over two days. Notes from day 2, but impressions from day 1 were similar. Decanted.
Dark red fruit, camphor and eucalyptus on the nose. Fruit is very prominent and dominate from start to finish. Tobacco, new leather, green peppercorn in the mid palate. Tannins are present but well integrated and do not overwhelm - very balanced! Long finish. This a really nice wine and it is holding up really well, barely showing signs of age. It is drinking really well right now, but should last a few more years. As a side note: reminiscent of the 1995 CDP from the same producer, though I think that the '95 was even better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2020 - DougLee wrote: 91 Points
Garnet-purple. Nose of garrigue, red plum, cherry, earthy tones. Layers of somewhat candied sweet plum, black cherry, blackberry, garrigue, and black pepper on the palate. Moderated tannin and acidity. Moderate length finish of blackberry, strawberry, and garrigue. Excellent tonight but needs more time to integrate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
1st of 6 magna, opened 45 minutes, perfect cork and level, as my 8th bottle noted in April, surprisingly fresh, cool fruit for an 03 with a nice peppery grenache bite, upside yet, years of life. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2020 - AnnaogErik Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfectly balanced. Silky, velvet tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/20/2020 - bram_epicurien Likes this wine: 94 Points
Impromptu wine tasting with Deyon on our terrace in Singapore - la vie est belle. Popped and poured from the bottle. Beautiful deep purple Color, no way you give this wine 17 years. Same on the nose, overwhelming cherry flavor. With some time you start to smell mushrooms, earth, liquorice, and some of the alcohol this warm year brought. So much freshness in the mouth. Med+ acidity, full body, high alcohol, Med+ flavour intensity, soft tannins, Long finish. Cherry, mushroom, liquorice, earth, a bit of salinity, this wine has a perfect balance and structure. As you taste it’s still so fresh and young. Wow. As time evolves you get the secondary And tertiary notes adding to the complexity. Great effort and strongly recommandable.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2020 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
In a great drinking window...can still go many years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/21/2020 - Machiavelli wrote:
Phil's 60th birthday. Fantastic bottle. Mature, but not old, classic CdP aromas, plush integrated tannins, long balanced finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/20/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
9th of 24, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, as April bottle. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/30/2020 - CHarder wrote: 92 Points
This is superb
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/17/2020 - Miceri Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium dark red with brownish hue; light caramel and spices; soft, silky, elegant, spicebox, lightly smoked light caramel aftertaste, light expression; do not think it will get any better, seems to be in a prime spot, fine tannins at the end; well-made, well-aged
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/20/2020 - anstruletz Likes this wine: 92 Points
I love the purity of fruit that shines through in this wine. In a great place and beautifully balanced despite the hot vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2020 - wardamnwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pretty wine hitting its stride.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
8th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, as Feb bottle and another demonstration of the consistent excellence of Beaucastel, there's a freshness to the wine which belies the vintage and this bottle showed more of the peppery Grenache than the more usual sweaty saddle quality of mourvedre, years of life left. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/27/2020 - tomlee wrote: 92 Points
Light crimson in color. 13.5% ABV. Clean nose of red fruits, roasted nuts and herbs. Medium body with ample acidity. Really compelling on the palate with bright, fresh fruits. Flavors of kisch, cassis and Herbes de Provence. Medium length on the finish. My expectations for this bottle were low given the vintage and an under performing bottle a few years back. I was stunned at how well this showed. What a treat! Best over the next 1-2 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/2/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
7th of 24, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, as last August's bottle, still young and aggressive though showing less pepper, fruit ripe and full but not baked, should last 10+ years. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/4/2020 - BLam Likes this wine: 91 Points
Best after 2 hours decanting. A ruby color wine with floral and honey aroma, medium body and bitterness after taste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2019 - PMJak11 Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Blah! Zero fruit and extremely thin. Wine didn’t seem flawed and cork was fine. I just keep striking out with this producer!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2019 - citizen1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ready to drink - smooth
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/15/2019 - erikkunz1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking really well, long way to go.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/20/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nose of butyl, barnyard, black cherry, and red cherry, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty once you forgot about the nose, the nose blew off during the evening only a little and was still present 3 nights later unfortunately, mouth filling fruit, and a long finish. Uploaded photo.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2019 - kfrench150 Likes this wine: 92 Points
From magnum bought at auction. Full ruby red grading to blood orange at the rim. Sweet red dried strawberry predominates on the nose. Some cedar, menthol, leather, rosehip, rhubarb and licorice on the nose as well. Dried red fruit on the lush, full bodied palate. Palate is waves of cedar, dried rosehip, cranberry, rhubarb, red plum skins, black tea and worn leather. No pruning of the fruit. Very smooth. Perfect acidity. Almost imperceptible tannins. The finish is deceptively fruit filled and tart, yet dry and very long. Quite lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/10/2019 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
6th of 24, opened an hour, perfect cork and level, showing more sweaty saddle mourvedre than last bottle in July 18, otherwise little changed, more class and nuance than otherwise fine Mordoree Liracs on same night, scope to improve further. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2019 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
on the nose and on the palate text book C9P... reminded me why I liked this appellation
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/30/2019 - Schiffy wrote: 93 Points
Expressive black fruit with perfumed notes of leather, mushroom and forest floor. However, after a two hour decant, this wine becomes beautifully integrated with more fruit forward notes of black cherry and spice. Nicely complex and surprisingly enjoyable to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/9/2019 - Neurowine1 wrote: flawed
From 375cc. Like the last bottle, horribly corked.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2019 - Seb Frefranc wrote: 91 Points
Good C9dP. Tough vintage. But keeps having freshness and elegance. Finishes with phenolic sweetness. Beaucastel signature comes through.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2019 - Mike V wrote: 84 Points
Just too overripe with stewed red fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2019 - LuckyLars Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted at opening. The wine shows a slight bricking colour at the edge and has the look of a fully mature wine. The bouquet shows Provencal spice and some black fruit. Very appealing, richly-flavoured Chateauneuf with depth and surprising acidity. Better than I expected for the vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2019 - vpoms wrote: 87 Points
Slightly hazy medium garnet color. Clean nose of medium minus intensity with aromas of tar, cedar, cooked black fruit, mushrooms, farmyard, leather. Wine is fully developed. On the palate it is dry with medium minus acidity, medium minus tannins, medium alcohol, medium body and medium flavor intensity of dried blackberry, wet leaves, earth. The finish is medium minus. This wine is well past its prime, too old. not suitable for further aging.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2019 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
HDH auction at Spiaggia; 4/12/2019-4/13/2019 (Chicago, IL): For the vintage, the only sign of overripeness is on the finish where you pick up some raisiny qualities. It's a relatively restrained wine, given the constraints of the appellation and vintage, with quite a bit of overall density. Quite clean as well; no unwanted funk or things like that.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2019 - ap70 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very expressive, intense nose. Garriguey, lots of herbs and spices, roasted red fruit. On the palate, medium plus acid, medium plus alcohol and medium bodied. Really fresh, clean. Dried Herbs and spices, stewed fruit, rustic in a very refined (!) way. Drinking well now and has a ways to go, best from the bottles I've tried so far.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/23/2019 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 92 Points
light to med depth red.
Red berries with a dark core, earth leather and game, all in a silky package, drinking so smoothly, but ending with loads of very fine tannin. Lovely complexity, perhaps on the warm side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2019 - Highlander wrote:
Outstanding! Dark fruits, tobacco,leather. The tannins are very well integrated but the wine still has great backbone. 1 one hour double decant was all this needed. Perfect color.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose of black cherry, red cherry, earth, and tobacco, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, mouth filling fruit, at peak, little future cellar improvement potential, long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2019 - beachbum wrote: 87 Points
this was a bit of a hot mess. it has aged into a melodious cherry liquor. it had no hard edges and was pleasant enough with a steak. it is just too alcoholic without a backbone for me. drink em
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2019 - CHarder wrote: 92 Points
Outstanding tonight. Singing straight out of the bottle. Hot year for sure but this still delivers proper Beaucastel quality
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2019 - StarV100 Likes this wine: 92 Points
As per previous recent examples, the 2003 Beaucastel is in a good place right now. No decant, none needed.
Dark fruity nose, tannins fully resolved, soft on the palate and a good, 20 sec finish. Pleasant hints of coffee and leather. Surprisingly less structure than I've come to expect from Beaucastel. The acidity is pretty low on this example, the result of a very growing season, I expect.
Drink up. I suggest while good now, it will begin to decline in a couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2019 - SARED wrote: 91 Points
Quick decant. Smokey dark raspberry. Smooth on the palate. raspy finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2019 - StarV100 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Strong nose with red fruit and secondary notes of glycerine (in a good way), leather, floral and tobacco. Palate as per nose with 20s finish Tannins fully resolved. Perfect with steak at Delmonico's NYC. Wish I had more, but I would drink this up in the next 2 to 4 years tops.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2019 - MichielV wrote: 90 Points
W rumpsteak and eggplant stew. Yummy combo. Fresh looking wine, with smokey nose upon opening. Fruit slowly began to take over. 1 hour decant. This became all structured cherry flavors, with some background music of spice. Very good. I agree with the drink up crowd. No reason to wait till it turns 20. We had next to leftover Montus 2001 Prestige. Very different.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2019 - JonasH65 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened this with some hesitation after reading other reviews but found an adorable Chn-de-P, probably just after its peak but still a vital wine. Classic ageing beauty but should most probably be enjoyed asap.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2019 - ap70 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cork was in perfect condition. Spice, earth, garrigue with some dried fruit on the nose, some leather and wood coming through. Medium plus acid, with moderate tannins. Lots of fruit and herbs on the palate, really fresh. At its peak, but see no harm waiting for a couple of years. Pleasantly surprised for a not great vintage. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/9/2018 - carlsport Likes this wine: 87 Points
Tasted alongside a 2012 and found this to be past its prime. Interesting, about 1/3 of the group preferred the 2003, but I thought the fruit was over-ripe. Still some things going on that make this an interesting comparison if nothing else.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2018 - stephen locke Likes this wine:
Coravin
Wow - what a lovely nose soaring from the glass as I poured it - cherry, herbs, spice and sweet fruits. Deep red with a watery rim.
Lively and refreshing - sweet fruit with spice and some herbs. No astringency and no harsh tannins that I associate with this vintage. Long sweet finish with only a hint of heat.
Plenty of life ahead of it but so enjoyable now.
A lovely surprise
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2018 - pilot360 wrote:
Seemed fully mature, predominantly garrigue/ underbrush. Totally enjoyable. of wine.
Last of 6.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/11/2018 - Chrishavens Likes this wine: 95 Points
Much to my surprise after reading the other reviews, my well-stored magnum was extraordinary. Dense, powerful, full of life, this bottle was flavor-packed. Best Beaucastel I've ever had. Drank at a modest family dinner, expecting light weight. Not in the least. A bomb. Flavors consistent with many notes here, but so much more power. Upside of bottle variation!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2018 - ESTEELE90 Likes this wine:
At tasting. Brief note. Nose and palate are in good alignment with each other showing big sweet red fruit that remains juicy and somehow soft, ground coffee, dark soil, and plenty of extract. As big and young tasting as this is it remains very well focused with taut acidity and firm drying tannins. Long finish remains simple but there is definitely underlying material that will come with more age.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2018 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
5th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, not as complex as the excellent 01 on night, but attractive with nicely nuanced peppery (Grenache?), baked plum fruit. Just F+ (18).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/16/2018 - Singerdouglas wrote:
Disappointing. Did not hold up well at all and it was properly cellared. Evolved to an oxidized mess, not drinkable. A shame for such a highly touted vintage.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2018 - pigdaddy wrote: flawed
corked. from magnum, so double the aggravation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2018 - Baronfreya Likes this wine: 93 Points
Met a friend to share a bottle or two and a nice Italian byob. Color reminded me of the dark red brick you see stand out against the lighter bricks. Poured next to a 2009 cab that was deep and purple neat to see the contrast. On the nose it started out with some nice lured fruit strawberry, cherry and some nice mix of wet soil that was just turned. As the night went on I picked up some nice subtle sweetness reminded me of sugar glazed cherry pie from a particular far stand on the east end f Long Island. Great memory, great company, great food and lovely wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2018 - greedy Likes this wine: 87 Points
Just ok. Lots of sediment so pour into decanter slowly so as to not stir it all up.
Decent acidity but lacking in fruit. Was expecting more.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/15/2018 - Rangeldoug wrote: flawed
Raisin water.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/5/2018 - KenK Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pretty aromas of dried red fruited herbs with sweet strawberries. Soft rich red berry fruits with wikd flowers. Well balanced and drinking lovely. Nice showing on day two!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Good Wine with an Exciting Super Bowl (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Small glass, brief note. Surprisingly fresh for its age and the 2003 vintage. Even seemed younger. Fun, slightly simple despite its richness.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2018 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
4th of 24, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, essentially as my July 17 note, not as full or velvety as previous night's 98, perhaps with better balance and nice acid lift, about 5 years from peak drinking when I would expect to upgrade. F (17.5).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2017 - Crispin wrote: 93 Points
Fabulous. Dark plum colours and strong fruit nose with some earthy and leathery notes. Gorgeous fruit with breadth, depth and length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2017 - tomlee wrote: 88 Points
Ruby red in color. 13.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, iron, leather and Herbes de Provence. Medium body with light to medium acidity. Not showing any of the roasted notes commonly associated with the '03 vintage but not showing much fruit either. Cherries, kirsch and plums on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Lacks the concentration and power I associate with Beaucastel. Good but somewhat disappointing. Drink over the next year or so.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2017 - wiscgrad wrote: 88 Points
Seems to be well past peak. Fruit has faded and acidity is spiking. Best after a couple hour decant. A bit disappointing.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2017 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose of black berry, plum, and sage, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, slightly subdued fruit, mouth filling, at its peak in my opinion so time to enjoy your cellar efforts, and a long finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2017 - ntruder wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic. Drinking. Well now with years ahead of it. Just starting to hit the classic aged out Beaucastel phase.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2017 - Vinomnivore Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good fruit, better than other bottles of 03 I had opened. Traces of brett, but not overpowering.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/10/2017 - corman82 wrote: 92 Points
Still nice fruit on nose and palate with mild tannins and acidity. Medium finish. Very nice!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/19/2017 - CHarder wrote: 89 Points
Hmm. Not sure about this one. Gave it 2 hrs in decant but still quite tight. Smells right though. Will leave it for another couple of years and see.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/7/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
3rd of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, as better Feb note with maybe a bit more roundness and dimension, more pepper, early days. At least F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2017 - Raizes Likes this wine: 90 Points
一开瓶由成熟的覆盆子果味和香料味道主导，随着醒酒而变化出酸梅、李子和皮毛的味道。2003是教皇新堡的热年，但这支酒的酸度支撑住了果味，虽然熟化已到后期，但尚未脱离巅峰，没有衰老的感觉。入口的平衡感不错，唯一的问题是收尾略苦。
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2017 - Vinomnivore Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opened 1 hour before serving-Better bottle than the last one. Showing more acidic lift and fruit. That said, the tannins are still quite strong and are out competing the fruit at the moment. I would recommend with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/19/2017 - Erolso1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank after decant and over the course of 2 hrs. Dull ruby-garnet in the glass. Fine sediment, with bricking and edge showing violet and blue at the rim.
First tasting: Rich honeysuckle, prune, orange leaves and rosewater florals on the nose. Smooth front palate shows red fruit bright acidity. Relatively closed mid palate brings forward round tannins and mild pucker through the finish. Back palate shows oak but is a little thin and doesn't have its heart into it, like an aging courtesan with f-you money. May be past her prime, but don't dare speak a word of it or she'll cut you.
Second tasting: Nose is starting to sing from the glass, plums, cassis, sandalwood and black fruit. Acid on the front palate is still present, but mid palate now shows deep blue-black fruit, leather mixed with silky tannins and a longer, more sultry finish. A much denser mouthfeel with real structure, almost merlot-like weight through the finish. Damn she sexy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/16/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 88 Points
2nd of 24, pnp, perfect level, odd smell to cork, not as good as Feb bottle, diminished, slightest taint (?), still VG (16).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2017 - Vinomnivore wrote: 85 Points
PNP: Tasted a bit flat. Prune and earth flavor with low acid. Will see if this improves with air time.
Day 2 after vacuum seal. Flat some stewed prune flavor. Bad bottle?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
1st of 24 (+ 6 magnums), pnp, perfect cork and level, deepish, glossy red, notably viscous, little development; muted nose, cherry, some leather, tobacco and earth; fullish, long and persistent, reasonably concentrated, harmonious if without any strong personality, nice touch of heat of south not the vintage, barely ready and a tad bland as yet. F (17.5).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2017 - kfrench150 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Full, sweet, red fruit, some sweaty saddle, red licorice with a slightly tannic bite on the long finish. Wow! Gets even better with air. That lovely garrigue note starts to be revealed. Just a lovely wine overall. And then with more time cedar or sandalwood right at the end. A very classy wine for sure!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/20/2017 - williamswhine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark hue, dark garnet/purple, rich. Pencil lead, prune, licorice, sediment in the pour, not as spicy as the '04, mellow, soft, plum/fig, dark fruit. Least favorite of the night-- but still a nice wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/19/2017 - dimitripo Likes this wine: 96 Points
Cinnamon
Juniper berries
Spice
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2017 - hadlieh2 Likes this wine: 95 Points
opened 2 hours before we drank with pork loin. best of the evening. smooth and wonderful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/26/2017 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
Thoroughly enjoyed this wine. I decanted it for about an hour prior to dinner which definitely helped. The nose was pretty closed on opening, but after the time in the decanter opened nicely revealing dried cherry and currant, leather, smoke, tobacco, and earthy minerality. The palate is holding up nicely and delivered nice fruit, lots of mineral/smoke notes and overall had lovely balance and depth. Not much upside in my opinion, but should hold still for sometime.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/17/2017 - phil the agony wrote: 90 Points
Le vin deception de la soirée.
Il aurait pu jouer dans les feluettes de Michel Marc Bouchard.
Trop fluide,trop facile à boire et manqué de punch.
Je dit pas qu'il était mort mais j'ai bu quelques Beaucastel qui m'avait bien séduit par sa fraîcheur.
16/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/15/2017 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to prior notes
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/11/2016 - beatles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quite fresh, young, intense, mineral notes, no signs of 2003-heat whatsoever; this has a firm core of fruit and it is far from developed in full, I shall have to stayu away now - it is lovely, but there is so much more to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2016 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose of dark Chinese sauces, barleywine, and lavender. I'd be lying if I said I perceived fruit here. There is no hurry to drink this wine, though I think the flavors will become increasingly dark and intense with age.
CdP is a hell of a wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/23/2016 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to prior note
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/21/2016 - FrancoisC Likes this wine: 92 Points
Meilleur le lendemain.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2016 - propapapa wrote: 89 Points
Holy smokes that nose is strong. Super dense wet earth dank strong nose. Palate is also crazy strong. Dense dark prune flavor. I mean, this is overpowering. Definitely needs food.
With steak much better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/25/2016 - Mads Eriksen wrote: 90 Points
Store forventninger der ikke helt bliver opfyldt. Moden i farven. Lidt funk, frugt, kompleks, rund og harmonisk i duften. Moden vin tænker man. Lidt over the hill eller oxidering i duften der indikerer at vinen ikke er helt på toppen. Smagen er harmonisk men mangler lidt. Elegant old school der ikke skriger CdP. Kan ikke finde den overmodenhed som andre anmeldelser skriver om.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2016 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Double decanted then SO'd for a couple of hrs, crimson, no brick, dark fruit with spice, soft tannins, mod. long finish; delicious & at peak IMHO
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2016 - KeithAkers wrote: 81 Points
Birthday Celebration Chateauneuf-Du-Papes (Bill's, Wilmette IL): 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.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2016 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty garnet red. Pure cherries on the nose. Lovely thick, robust texture. Delicious notes of red cherries and chocolate. There is a wonderful bitterness in the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/29/2016 - EhrlichDY wrote: flawed
Something gone wrong here. Thin and volatile with no fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2016 - llink wrote: 91 Points
Surprise of the tasting. There is a little bit of stewed fruit on the nose, but it gets drowned out by lovely kirsch, walnut, spice and some citrus. The palate shows bold flavors, plums and dark fruits. Not much acidity, so it comes across as a little flat and monolithic, but definitely better than many CdPs from 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2016 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Surprisingly fresh coming from this hot vintage. Berries, dusty earth, and baking spice. Very nice.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2016 - Milos Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark cherry and mineral notes; ripe tannins wrapped nicely in a dark cherry fruit. Moderate length. Overall, a very nice wine, still quite primary.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2016 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is finally fully mature and drinking great now. It needs a good 2 hour decant, but then it is kicking on all cylinders. My palate has recently turned away from CDP, but this wine just brought me back. Black cherry, menthol, white pepper, and of course a touch of classic Beaucastel brett barnyard. Finish is smooth, but mouth puckering with juicy kirsch liqueur. This renewed my faith in Beaucastel, especially since it was from the '03 vintage, which is not my favorite.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2015 - WendyB wrote: flawed
Oxidized, off bottle. Repurposed as the red cabbage cooking wine and as a flawed wine teaching example for a 16 year old.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2015 - Iceman611 wrote: 93 Points
Nice mixture of complex earthy flavors with enough fruit to make the wine tasty. Tobacco, asparagus, and rhubarb.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2015 - rosey Likes this wine: 96 Points
Perfect at its peak worth h wait
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
11/29/2015 - jonanator wrote: 93 Points
From magnum. At first, this felt overripe and pruney/raisiny. After some air, this transformed into a lovely Beaucastel. Tons of garrigue and a hint of spice make this a wonderful wine in a great place right now. This is nicely integrated at this point, perfectly balancing fruit and more tertiary characteristics like forest floor, leather, tobacco, and anise. Its 12 years of age are starting to show near the outer edges with some browning. There is nothing quite like an aged Beaucastel. Must buy more.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2015 - ifishtoo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not the best but still a pleasant drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2015 - skifree wrote: 94 Points
This bottle was delicious from the first sip. Bottle had lots of fruit, some pepper, some garrigue, and a round mouth feel and long finish. Reminded me of how lovely CdP can be - once again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2015 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Drinking marvelous now!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/25/2015 - SIV wrote: flawed
Dark ruby with slight brown tint and orange halo. Moderate viscosity with fine, dark, suspended sediment clouding it up a bit.
Dry cherry on the nose, slate, slight barnyard, wood, smoke.
high acid, harsh tannin, sharp on the tongue. Nothing round or easy about this. Finishes with acid and alcohol.
Not sure if I got one that wasn't treated well, not really stewy or oxidized, but, hazy with fine black sediment and some orange hues.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2015 - EhrlichDY wrote: 89 Points
Similar impression to my last bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2015 - DarinC Likes this wine: 92 Points
I was expecting this to have some cooked fruit or raisined elements that I've found in other 2003s, pleasantly it didn't. Balanced, and lovely. Plenty of freshness and acidity. Great pairing with several Indian food dishes. The mouvedre really stood out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2015 - wineappreciation wrote: 90 Points
Plum, white grape, hints of new steel, fresh shrimp; medium-bodied, silky, gradually rising, mouth-filling, long finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2015 - McKraftyWino Likes this wine: 95 Points
tried from two different glasses
The Somm Burgundy glass presented this classic presentation of Beaucastel
barnyard nose, supple taste, delicious!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/30/2015 - beatles wrote: 91 Points
rich, quite local, only hints of the heated vintage, this is more Beaucastel than 2003 and I quite like it, acidity is bright, the fruit is solid, the wine is very much alive, the wine is balanced and has many years to go; probably better in five+ years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/9/2015 - Longnose Gar wrote: 91 Points
It's raisin juice, but it's good raisin juice and a style I happen to like. Decadent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/6/2015 - paul canet wrote: 92 Points
Toujours excellent, millésisme chaud en Rhone, le vin commande un belle piece viande.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/16/2015 - Raizes Likes this wine: 92 Points
开瓶有些烟熏和陈年的气息，很快醒开后，除了枣干和一点黑莓的果味之外，非常像陈年的普洱茶。炽热风格，单宁非常细滑，结构完整，属于内心火热但是举止有分寸、进退有法度的类型。后期香气从甜润转向严肃，香料和皮毛气息主导，很古典。
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/10/2015 - MemorialWineFan Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened around 11 am and decanted for 45 minutes. Put back in bottle and corked it up. Started consuming around 8:00pm at a CDP event. This one showed very well. The wines of the night were two 1995s and an 1989...just hard to compete with a good aged CDP. The 2003 is drinking well now.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2015 - libero wrote: 91 Points
Just pop and pour. Each bottle is really unique. While others bottles have lots of sediment, this particular bottle has none.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2015 - jaumealaska wrote: 90 Points
Opened and decanted-drank about 4 hours later. Barnyard on nose, with dark fruits medium body and firm grip on opening good finish. After decanting the tannins had softened and more fruit to the body. some tar and leather notes with the dark fruit, definitely has a few more years, but not sure if it will evolve firther. Great match for the cassoulet.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2015 - ifishtoo Likes this wine: 91 Points
PnP. First of a case. Nice aroma but a bit thin on the palate with a moderate aftertaste. Some garrigue but not too much. Not up to the quality level of the 98 or 00 but still an enjoyable CdP.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2014 - sphBacchus wrote: 89 Points
rather disappointing - first bottle tasted of this vintage . too thin and lacked the richness and length of other years . Must decant the next time as very heavy on sediment .
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
11/27/2014 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
The wine evolved over the course of the afternoon and only after an hour or so did it start to open and reveal its native character and style. Dark brownish garnet colored, medium bodied, complex dark berry and spicy black cherry fruits were muted initially but opened up after an hour, accented by pain grillé (toast), smoke, leather, with hints of creosote and licorice on a moderate tannin lingering finish.
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-dinner-with-varied.html
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2014 - Lilja wrote:
Not enought time with the wine to rate.
Nose is quite heavy and musty and for me it feels dominated by very ripe Grenache aromas. Bay leaves, ripe plums, sweet cherries, olives and slight funk. Not a lot of brett or wood. Very ripe on the palate with round tannins, heavy warm alcohol but with a good intensity and length. It's not how I expect Beaucastel to taste, but an interesting and high quality wine still.
Cinsault : 5%
Counoise : 10%
Grenache noir : 30%
Mourvèdre : 30%
Syrah : 10%
Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne : 15%
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/13/2014 - beachdude8977 wrote: 89 Points
just ok. Its nice upon opening, cherries, strawberries, minerals, tight, and dry... but then sort of picks up this weird honey note and becomes flabby with a short finish.. yikes..
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/9/2014 - mouton45 wrote: 86 Points
Pretty disappointing actually. I concur some some of the other CT tasting notes. This not what Beaucastel should taste like, especially from a very good vintage. The wine was drinkable, so it wasn't a bad bottle. it just wasn't that great.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/2/2014 - NathanT wrote:
this bottle needed a decant of a couple hours or so. popped and poured tasted watery, alcoholic juice. it opened up a little bit after 30 minutes. I should have waited. disappointed with this bottle.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/25/2014 - lkatz wrote: 88 Points
hopefully more time will take the edge off this wine
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/31/2014 - EhrlichDY wrote: 89 Points
From a half bottle. Decanted 2 hours prior to drinking. A touch stewed on the nose and palate but better than my last bottle a year and a half ago. All the pieces are integrated and I didn't get any heat with this bottle. The tannins are beginning to fully resolved. Again notes of Kirsch and dark fruit. This was just okay. Drink now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/8/2014 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Meaty, chewy, in early maturity
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/8/2014 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
A very good effort in a tough vintage, this wine is still quite young, but is beginning to develop well. The nose is filled with blackberry liqueur, kirsch, anise, crushed rock, and tobacco. Complexity continues to increase with air. The palate is very good, with surprising freshness for 2003, lots of depth and density of flavor. The tannins are well integrated, but still provide nice structural presence. This will likely get better for another 5 years before hitting its full peak.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/26/2014 - smazur Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still youthfull. Enjoyable now but as a long life still.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/27/2014 - VoteferPedro wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 2 hours. It was paler with faint brown rim and was raisin and prune on palate. There was the scorched grapeiness of grenache and overall this started as a decent but not very worthy drink. The color and cooked fruit flavor seemed just shy of the oxidation seen in mishandled or heated wine.
Most interestingly, these oxidative characteristics faded by hour 4 leaving a much more interesting and satisfying wine. Started an 87 finished a 90
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2014 - Tartiflette Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Had some difficulty defining what was wrong with this bottle. Tasted lots of different things like the rest in this forum. But something was just not right! I believe the lack of tannins and acid. And that in combination with an abundance of fruit, coffee, liquorice etc. just isn't right. Decanted about 2 hours.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
5/12/2014 - blanquito wrote: 93 Points
Wild, feral, unusual bouquet here, charged with kirsch, wet fur, must, brambles, sandstone, sour orange, decay, old leather, a whiff of VA. Remarkably "old" and complex for such a young wine, but this profile will turn off the squeamish in a hurry. I like it. The palate is similar, sweet and savory with meat and lingonberries, lean and bright in style overall, but still layered with intensity and a long tangy aftertaste of autumn. Reminds me a lot of Musar. This drinking great already, but has upside to spare. I wish I'd bought a lot more than I did on release.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/27/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 89 Points
Austere with earthy light raisen cherry; had great moments and lesser; rather uneventful finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2014 - joet626 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smooth and elegant. Very nice
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/25/2014 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with little color change, tiny bit of sediment; loads of cranberry, leather, older but well built and lot yet delineated; sweet and tart red fruit on the palate, cranberry, dried leaves, licorice, blood orange, almost fig; delicious, well balanced and fresh for '03.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2014 - AudunG wrote: 92 Points
Great aromas with forest floor, garrigue and leather. Compact and concentrated, with rather rustique tannins and low acidity. Less elegant than 01 and 07, tasted on the same occasion. A great wine, nevertheless.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2014 - Sharmajd wrote: 91 Points
Had a couple of glasses using the Coravin system. The wine is fresh. Fruit forward, with well integrated tannins. Amazing. Would buy some more!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/24/2014 - John McCabe wrote: 90 Points
Seems a bit wayward. A lot going on but not all good. Softens up after an hour. Nothing special.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/12/2014 - Neurowine1 wrote: flawed
From 375. Hopelessly corked. Damn.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2014 - jrkennedy37 wrote:
This was surprisingly primary for being 10 years old. Fruit is very dark and fresh and it took decanting and warmth to showcase the full expression. Good amount of acid and a bit of tannin, but neither overwhelming. Hold at least 2-5 more years before consuming.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2013 - WDSteers wrote: 93 Points
strawberry , cherry with good minerality. tannins fading. drink now, not sure enough acidity to carry through.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2013 - axisx Likes this wine: 91 Points
savory, leafy notes give way to spice and sweet ripe red fruit. palate is leaner than what I expected, but pleasantly elegant.
We finished the bottle too fast. Sweet fruit and fig notes remaining in the bottle cried out for patience. decanted for 30 minutes. more decanting recommended.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2013 - JumpAroundOnGrapes wrote: 90 Points
Decanted, drank nicely, some plum, raisins, anise, cherry, still present tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/10/2013 - jsebiri wrote:
Juicy,fruity, tannic.......Single dimensional..........ok wine
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2013 - ekenneth wrote: 93 Points
This is a beast, still a little early to drink. At first there's a little beat of heat, strong blackberry fruit and an amarone-like resinous quality. After decanting and a little time alone, the palate starts to round out and it comes into focus; earth, cola, hillside scrub, leather, smoke, and blackberry fruit. Give it 5-8 years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/29/2013 - Lakejoy10808@hotmail.com wrote: 88 Points
The wine looks Purple colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Plum, Prune, and Raisin. It tastes like Prune, and Raisin. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
Had an extremely ripe prune flavor with a high alcohol heat. Was full but thin in texture. Did not meet expectations for price point.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2013 - Jurgens wrote: 89 Points
Avarage
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/6/2013 - GBFan wrote: 88 Points
Lovely nose, good fruit and decent length. Certainly not over the hill, but underwhelming for what it is. Lacks complexity. I loved this wine when it was very young, but right now it's merely OK; not very exciting.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2013 - pilot360 wrote:
3rd time I've had this, and overall a very good bottle, Predominately anise and white pepper, great subtle leather and smoke coming in. Wonderful nose. palate is tart and alive.
Drank over 4 hours, purchased from auction.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2013 - hammie1234 wrote: 92 Points
Out of the bottle, this was bursting with anise. Lots of traditional S. Rhone earth, leather. Ready to drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2013 - Baron Samedi wrote:
Slightly better than the last bottle I had. The wine is drinkable now but this is still hardly a great CdP.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/15/2013 - benny wrote:
This bottle was a big disappointment. It way be over the hill or big variations in bottles. I am sorry to say I have 4 more bottles left in my cellar.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2013 - Wine Canuck Likes this wine: 91 Points
Visit to Beaucastel (Chateau de Beaucastel): Nose has some intriguing spicebox, but is marred by some stewed notes. Palate is fleshy and finish is a bit short and alcoholic. Didn't really get my attention.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2013 - fingers Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Third and final bottle since last January. Not as good as the 2nd, which wasn't as good as the first. In decline and not much fun to drink. Aroma is nice at the pop but weakens rapidly. The palate is tart, thin, alcoholy, and has a touch of green meanies. Not the vintage of Beau that you're looking for. 4+9+11+5 = 80
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/5/2013 - Sjontoft wrote: 93 Points
Very nice. Almost amarone like. quite complex. For a higher score mid palate would have had to be more powerful. Drinks very well now, but will probably keep for 5+ years.
3 = Very good
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2013 - VTLakeCellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark fruit, silky tannins, leather, and tobacco exploded from this wine. Very well integrated wood, rich and full. Still full of life and seems to be at its prime right now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2013 - Yagil wrote: 89 Points
(at Arnoldo's)
less than expected from Beaucastel and from this vintage...
Aroma & palate hardly resemble a classic CdP, particularly this one, moreover that the wine was decanted for 3 hours...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/30/2013 - tplskylrk wrote:
TN's all over the place. No read on what to prepare for. Classic nose, barny, dried heres, tight small red berries in the hot sun on the nose. Likey. Grenache is dominate, then the minerality of the Syrah comes out swinging... Even from the .375 is tight, young, beggn" for more time & air. The kirsch, the red dried fruit just tightens on the palate. This is really nice.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2013 - danstrings Likes this wine: 89 Points
Far better than many of the last of these. Sleek earthy "developed" yet still retaining freshness. Bitter chocolate, nori (seaweed paper), soy.;..
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/2013 - danstrings Likes this wine: 88 Points
MUCH better than last two, especially with hours of aeration. Still ultra ripe earthy some forest leaves, but nice spicy dark fruit this time and much more minty/refreshing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2013 - cabellis Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine was not at all what I was expecting after reading other reviews. Truly a pleasant surprise. This was the first time I had sampled the 2003 and did not expect anything special. I took a bottle out for dinner and had it decanted on our arrival. It was then served about one hour later with a lobster bisque and held up very well. It had a wonderful aroma on the nose. The taste was very soft with hints of blueberries and a smooth although not very long finish. I believe the bottles in my cellar are beginning to reach their pinnicle and plan to begin serve and consume them over the next two years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/14/2013 - EhrlichDY wrote: 88 Points
Slightly spirity on the nose. Kirsch on the palate. A bit dilute. All in all, not the best Beaucastel. Will let the remaining bottles lay for at least one more year before I check in again.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2013 - cr84 wrote: 89 Points
Very diluted but fresh and lively, this is quite simple and basic, without the body of a great wine. It does seem on the out track, past prime.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/23/2013 - danstrings Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Far better than the last split of this I had, which was swampy and gone.. But still verrrrryy pruney and overripe, with some brett and VA. Some nice notes tho of bitter chocolate, mocha, espresso...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/21/2013 - BradKNYC wrote:
A disappointing evening of Beaucastel 1995 - 2005. (Snooth.): Shows the thick texture and plush mouthfeel that the '98 used to have, but is more red fruited than black fruited and is ultimately rather unbalanced, with the alcohol sticking out way too much and the fruit being a bit one-dimensional. While relatively low in acidity, there is more than I expected. Finish is short and a bit flat. Serviceable, but that's about it and certainly not worth the tariff. B.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/14/2013 - danstrings wrote: flawed
Uh oh, took a risk on some half bottles at a blowout price ($22), and this is pretty funky/overripe nose/tired. And surprisingly light (shut down as said below) on the palate. Will let it settle down a bit and see if it improves.
Next day -- horrendous, absolutely gone, dirty sewage water and wet moldy leaves. Pray for bottle variation.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2013 - Eric Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was better than I expected. It took quite a while to unwind, moving from sulky, to intensely spicy on the nose (but shut down hard on the palate) to finally relenting. Spicy and intense but with more more nerve and freshness than I would have expected, especially given the somewhat odd taste I had back in 2006. I don't think this is ever going to be a truly great vintage of Beau, but I also think it will have its own unique charms.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2012 - Pierre-Yves Likes this wine: 91 Points
Slowed ox for 2 hours. It has some confit fruits on the nose. Palate is fresh and peppery. There is structure and freshness to it, and was pretty good with duck confit. Some 2003 Chateauneuf are very jammy with a lot of heat. This Beaucastel managed to be fresh and structured, maybe to a detriment of some complexity. Lovely.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2012 - Ilomd wrote:
Thought nose was ok but wine off.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2012 - Zweder wrote: 92 Points
Weekly tasting group #053; 4 x 3 red 2003 (@ VD): Dark blood red. The bouquet shows sweet ripe berries, cherries, raisins and herbs and spices. On the palate a sweet start, ripe fruits, raisins again, sweet spices, chocolate, soft tannin and bitterness and great length. A beautiful wine, early maturity now and several years ahead.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2012 - RR47 wrote: 86 Points
Sorry, but nothing write about. Unimpressive. From a 375 ml
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/10/2012 - cardsandwine wrote:
I found this bottle dull to drink. The wine was half dead. It possessed a decent bouquet but was insipid on the palate and had very little finish. A very boring bottle of wine. I hope this was just this bottle, but from the notes of others before me, that may not be the case.
However, a week later I opened 4 more bottles at my grandson's christening and the wine was singing. Each bottle displayed a great sense of place, balance and a lengthy and elegant finish. Bottle variation, heky it happens all the time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/7/2012 - fingers wrote: 84 Points
Lots of funk and leather (borderline TCA?, or is that the infamous Beau Brett?) which seems common in the reviews. Softly muted bouquet and fruit supply, saved by an excellent balance on tannin and acidity, but this is nothing to get excited about in terms of CdP. By day 2, the brett and barnyard have weakened and it drinks much better. It's well made and all considering the vintage, but boring as hell. I would be ecstatic if this were a $15 daily quaff, but that is certainly not the case. 5+9+14+6 = 84
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2012 - DanTheRhoneFan wrote: 85 Points
Immediately after opening: Horse/barnyard nose with no fruit, Very light fruit on the palate, thin, one-dimensional.. No finish to be found. Made me sad for a Beaucastel. Threw in a decanter and hoped for improvement with air. One hour later (pour from decanter): Slight brett nose.. perhaps the nose has thinned even further?.. Still one dimensional and thin on the palate. No fruit to be found. And is that TCA or is that just the funk of Beaucastel making an appearance?. Still not pleased. One more hour in the decanter and in the glass: TCA/funk has become more obvious in the nose and taste. I can't decide if this is corked or just dead. Perhaps it is a bad bottle, perhaps it is over the hill.. It is not obviously corked but it isn't on par either. It's drinkable but I hope for better things with the remaining bottle. Probably will not wait much longer to find out as I feel this bottle may have already peaked.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
On first opening - whoa!, this is pretty stinky: faint brett, horsey, soiled barn stall, no sign of fruit whatsoever. But, with just a few more minutes in the glass (w/out any swirling) some bright red fruits, spice, iodine, sour milk, bay leaf, oregano and red licorice notes begin to appear. And in just a few more minutes, this thing has me completely sucked me in, and I'm loving it. Some of the tn's had me a bit worried that this might be less than enjoyable, or perhaps mediocre at best, well, I got one of the good bottles, this is on point and getting better with each minute in the glass. Good toward very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/19/2012 - pilot360 wrote:
Nose of hosin sauce ,tar ,leather smoke and cherry. Palate is very sour with cherries, a bit fat and short. Still very enjoyable and old world.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/15/2012 - Dasplayer wrote: 86 Points
Disappointing, unbalanced and too mature. Although I'm not a big fan of the ordinary cndp from beaucastel I had expected a lot more from this Wine in a year loke 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/26/2012 - Miceri wrote: 91 Points
Bright red color; lean nose, mint, slight hint of raspberries, some mildly burned caramel; elegant mild lean attack, mild sherry-like taste; mildly tannic; elegant and agreeable, not pushing itself towards you just being there; limited complexity; long aftertaste with lingering caramel
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2012 - BenSlivka wrote: flawed
I've had CdB dating back at least to the 1989 vintage. In my experience, there can be a lot of bottle variation. The 1989s were luscious but tight when young, started opening up beautifully by 2002-2004, and then fell off a cliff and were flat and lifeless. I'm not sure if they ever recovered. This 2003 vintage was even worse than that. Not clearly flawed, but just flat, little fruit, not a pleasure at all. I'm going to be generous and mark this as a flawed bottle, but I'm glad I didn't have any more in my cellar, as it may just be an over-the-hill CdB.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/30/2012 - jmht wrote: 90 Points
Slightly jammy fruit dominates the wine. Delicious but not what you would call classic Beaucastel by any stretch. Drink now and decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2012 - libero wrote: 91 Points
Better to wait one hour before drinking it
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/29/2012 - benny wrote: 94 Points
A rich aroma of fruit and spices. Improved after an hour. Drinking well now with a little air.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2012 - Mingmong wrote: 92 Points
Dried roses, lovely damp floral potpourri and yam on the nose. Very elegant, sweet blackberries and sweet sugary notes on the palate. Its surprising for a beaucastel. Different and atypical. But nevertheless still a good drinking wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2012 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
Mega-Pointer Dinner (Yuan Wei Deep-Sea Garoupa, Serangoon Road): This was a strange Beaucastel - a very un-Beaucastel Beaucastel if you know what I mean. On first guess, most of the table thought Amarone, and even though I guessed CdP on second try, my guess was one of the more modern producers. If anything, this tasted more like a Tablas Creek (Beaucastel's venture in Paso Robles, California) than your typical middle-aged Château de Beaucastel. The nose was atypical rich an showy, with a serious waft of dried roses alongside thick aromas of raisins and blackberries touched with a little touch of lavender and garrigue and some damp earth. Very attractive, but quite a bit sweeter smelling than usual. Same thing on the palate, with its plump, fleshy flavours of blackberries, plums and prunes along with a slightly dried fruit, raisiny bit and a twist of licorice at the finish. Lots of black-fruited depth here, and the tannins were a bit rough, less refined than usual. Yet for all that, this was still very well-balanced and blessed with a certain classiness to it big frame. Not the best Beaucastel, or the most typical, but it was still a nice wine in its own right. Still on the youngish side with all that fruit and tannin, I would give it another 4-5 years more before trying again. WA95 on release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2012 - Alex H wrote: 85 Points
Rich ripe with raisins, black roses and black berries, prunes and some black tea. Lotsa dried fruits. Vintage character
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/10/2012 - wood wrote: 96 Points
WOW, WOTN agains 2005 Clos Des Papes, 2005 Vieux DonJon, and 1990 Guigal Hermitage. Changed from a fabulous aroma of fruit and spice (some said ash), to include licorice. Great fruit at the first pallet that dimmed on the mid pallet but came back nicely on the finish. Could still improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/28/2012 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 92 Points
Showing a bit of age, but drinking very well right now. Still plenty of red/black fruit, though it seems to have faded a bit. Some nice earthy notes and few lingering tannins. I think it still has a few more good years ahead of it, but I don't think I'd wait more than 5.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/16/2012 - fingers wrote: 88 Points
My first Ch Beau. Popped and followed for about 6 hours. Dark ruby with a dash of brick, 90% opaque, clear and sound. Nose could use a little volume but is lovely nonetheless, with flora, garrigue, pepper. and spice. Great balance and mouthfeel with limited flavor and structure. Feels mature but should be able to go on for a few more years.
5+10+16+7 = 88
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/15/2012 - 1961Vintage wrote: 91 Points
Simply a classic CndP...Wonderful expressive fruit and extremely well balanced. the chouxcroute was a classic pairing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2011 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful and mature bouquet with garrigue. On the palate round and melted tannin. Concentrated and ripe fruits and good freshness. Beautiful and complex wine. Not really sure about when to drink this; maybe now, but it also might improve a bit with some more ageing. (This blind note has more or less the same conclusion as the bottle I tasted in Jan. 2011)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2011 - Sycamore wrote: 90 Points
Nice counterpoint, at 13.5%, to a much bigger '03 CDP that we had earlier in the week. A few minor secondary components come through over time, as does a little earthiness. Enjoyable now, with a long life still ahead of it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/3/2011 - Weston3220 wrote: 92 Points
Vertical of Beaucastel [94-08 minus cpl yrs] (Vancouver, BC): Mossy/Fresh Forest Floor, Meaty [Chicken]
Med+ Acid, med/med+ tannin, med+ body, long Finish
Fresh, Big, Structured
conc: from my notes this seems to be another one for the long haul, just too young but excellent
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/31/2011 - Cellarhead wrote: 92 Points
Halloween bottle @ Log Haven. Showing both rich fruit and noticable amounts of maturity, though certainly on the young side. My first Beaucastel, so I cannot comment on quality in relation to house style or other vintages, but quite enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2011 - Tartiflette wrote: 92 Points
Just starting to get mature. Decanted and waited 2 hours, and only slowly it became really good. Black Berries, peppers and spices, chocolate, liquorice, acetone and strawberries. Long aftertaste. Lovely and well balanced. Still many years to go. Maybe a little too "New World" compared to older vintages.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2011 - rhit wrote:
Seems to have aged much more slowly than my last bottle. The same savory flavors were there, but much less apparent under a heavy blanket of dark fruit. I was surprised given my previous experience, but clearly I opened this too early.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2011 - hammie1234 wrote: 92 Points
Subtle, earthy, well balanced. Nice dark fruit
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2011 - lkatz wrote: 88 Points
Thought it was too young and not developed...will give it more time
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/9/2011 - paulst wrote: 93 Points
Bold structured black cherry, raisen and blackberry; opulent and dense; well balanced; deep and textured; long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/13/2011 - ecnemergut wrote: 92 Points
No formal notes. Great nose, as before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2011 - viscalbarsa wrote: 89 Points
Sour cherry and tobacco. Good finish. Nice
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/28/2011 - Les_Dubh Likes this wine: 88 Points
Lovely but perhaps a touch young so holding onto my others a bit longer
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/10/2011 - boreddoughboy wrote: 91 Points
Great spice with tobacco. Doesnt really go too far with weak finish. Like it. Didn't love it though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/10/2011 - lmodell wrote: 94 Points
1 sip was a little tight upfront but took only minutes to open up and soften with a lovely long finish. Had with rack of lamb. Exquisite!!!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/9/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 92 Points
Wednesday Night Blind - February 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): I love Beaucastel, this was a bit atypical to the lineage as it was very "New World" in my opinion, not that that is a bad thing for me, lots of ripe fruit, grilled meat, only a hint of barnyard funk, a really enjoyable wine overall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/11/2011 - RJ8CDI wrote: 93 Points
Cherries, provençal herbs, spices on the nose. From a hot year but with not overripe. Very compact now. Will improve with some more bottle age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/8/2011 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely nose of smoke, earth, white pepper, and dark fruit, more of the same on the palate, touch simple, very good but not great, medium body, and medium finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2011 - Bunski wrote: 93 Points
Very nice, fruit and goodies, complexity and nice long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2010 - vumansky wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. Dense purple color. Earthiness, dark fruit, barnyard. Very good structure. Needs more time in bottle to truly shine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2010 - placecarnot wrote: 92 Points
Definitely showing the characteristics of the vintage: slight raisin quality, dense color, high tannin. Nice wine though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/16/2010 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Monthly Tasting Group LTB 2010-10; Châteauneuf-du-Pape (By VD): Herbs, spices, black fruits and earthy impressions in the bouquet. Same on the palate. Although there is a firm amount of bitterness and tannin, the wine is more mature than expected. Start drinking it now and see how it develops over the years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2010 - knorthrip wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 2 hours before drinking. Cherries and plums. Earthy with some barnyardy funk. Drank well with dinner but would benefit from a bit more age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2010 - kris.h wrote: 91 Points
Did not decant. Four years since my last taste has done this wine some good. It's showing a little bit of that Beaucastel funk that I like on the nose. Inviting aromas of cherry, plum, and dates. A bit of leather. Doesn't seem roasted or overripe at all. Tannins are starting to integrate well. Full bodied, lush palate. There is a little bit of heat on the finish. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised at how this wine has aged. Drinking pretty good now and I imagine four or more years in the cellar won't hurt it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/7/2010 - tthomas wrote: 90 Points
Nose of iron, meat and dark, dark fruit. Blackberry, smoke and tar. Seems a bit rustic right now. No more open on 2nd day. Wait 2-3 years to try next bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2010 - ecnemergut wrote: 93 Points
Really very good: consumed over two nights, stored at cellar temperature between tastings. Fantastic nose of raspberry jam with some subtle iron and spice. Medium weight on the palate, perhaps slightly better on the second day. 2003 was very hot and while the wine has powerful fruit and is a bit one dimensional , it has nice acidity with silky tannins. In my opinion, a somewhat under-rated wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Popped and poured. Showing lots of iron and dark fruit. Fairly straightforward. Not overly impressive right now and I remain skeptical about future improvement.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2010 - Siggy wrote: 92 Points
Three bottles tasted with consistent notes. Surprisingly, none of the roasted/stewed character or raisiny flavors that were so prominent in bottles tasted two years ago (and in 2006 at the domaine). Well-structured and ripe, with some earthy/spicy secondary flavors that are beginning to come out of hibernation, firm supporting acidity, ripe tannins, and a long finish. Rather pleasantly un-2003-like, perhaps because the high amount of Mourvedre tolerated the heat well? Or maybe this just needed a few years to calm down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/20/2010 - tacman wrote: 88 Points
Very tight and oaky out of the bottle ... decanted and after 2 hours started to soften up a bit. Unfortunately, had to leave at that point, so left 1/2 btl at the wine store. Will need feedback for 2-4 hrs later
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2010 - Bernt Olav wrote: 91 Points
Denne var veldig rustikk i starten, men med en time i karaffel så begynte ting å komme mer på plass. Nesten ingen aroma til å begynne med, kom mer røde bær, kirsebær etterhvert. Ble drukkket både med og uten mat og den fungerte helt klart best med. Tror denne har potensiale til å øke 2 - 3 poeng med noe mer lagring.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2010 - puterdewd wrote: 93 Points
Leather saddle wrapped in a dirty diaper. Classic cdp.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/19/2010 - vumansky wrote: 92 Points
Still a too young to consume. Open for only an hour before drinking... needs more time in the glass.... outstanding potential. Deep purple/dark red... spiciness needs to mellow somoe more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2010 - paulst wrote: 94 Points
Initially light with some fruit; developed later with smooth rich black cherry, blackberry, raisen, licorice; just kept improving and broadening; very noticable soft silky tannins; long smooth finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/3/2010 - Maverick wrote: 93 Points
very elegant and intimate mouth. needs time to open and patience to find the nuance. don't rush and it'll pay dividends.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2010 - A&C wrote: 88 Points
This was just ok -- kind of flat. Kind of like a sour cherry. Just ok.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/23/2010 - mukden wrote: 89 Points
YES, but why? So, this confirms my view that there is no point opening any Beaucastel for 10 years. It is often mute, at an earlier date. Seven years in this is a deep red, but hardly any nose (straight from the bottle). I beat the crap out of it in a decanter and it raised some limp liqourice; giving off a moderate heat. Put it away til 2013, at the very least.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2010 - Niagara wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Very nice but seems a bit simple -- short finish -- and may have benefited from a few hours of decanting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2010 - vanpe003 wrote: 93 Points
Right now, this is a bottle I have to be in the mood for in order to enjoy. Previous posters suggest an overdone, overripe rendition. I don't get any of that. In fact, this bottle initially seems a touch closed, a touch thin, a touch stupid.
The nose is one of the highlights of this bottle. All kinds of spice, leather, meat, matchstick, mineraiity. Really forward and provocative.
On the palate, less body and richness than I expected given the nose. My impression of this is that it's nicely balanced but a bit young and closed. Long finish that winds into a bit of raisin on the back, but for me this note is way in the background (though it does have a lingering presence)..
I'm thinking another 5 years will prove beneficial. 91pts now, with some decent upside going forward.
Update: I left a glass of this on the counter overnight, decided "what the heck, let's give it a taste to see if it's dead". Wow!! Not dead. In fact, it's really in a great place after the mistreatment (about 12 hours of air in a glass). The palate picked up a lot of richness and much more expressive. 93 points Day 2.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2010 - RR47 wrote: 87 Points
Of the 6 bottles (375ml) we have tasted over the past few years, 4 performed well (91-92 points), however, 2 (including this one) were subpar.All were stored side by side in a 55 F cellar since release. Strange bottle variation, not corked, but this showed tart cherries, acid, and tannins. Little fruit up front and not giving more. The nose was muted with a little cherry, earth, and raisins. Tasted over 3 hours to see if it came to life. A number of 750's are waiting for approval in the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/24/2010 - Arch57 wrote: 91 Points
Jan 2010 Connecticut Wine Tasting (Henry's House - Fairfield CT): Wine "A" of the tasting, tasted Blind as all the wines in the 1st flight were. I had guessed a Syrah based French wine from 2005 as the nose had that fruit and spice component. The color was a dark ruby and it had just started to open up on the palate with some red berries. I gave it a 91 and most folks scored it around that or a bit higher. It showed its youth and did soften a bit when we sampled it later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2009 - pdrago wrote: 91 Points
Birthday dinner with herb crusted rack of lamb. Decanted for 2 hours. Nose was pretty tight and did not offer up as much as I expected. This very hot vintage shows clearly in this Beaucastel. Overipe fruit and scorched earth notes. Some interesting complexities including ground coffee, pork sausage, and sage leaves. Heavy, chunky, dense, and rustic...lacking the polish I have experienced in other vintages. Very good but not great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/17/2009 - rexmerlot wrote: 89 Points
Light Ruby color. Cherry on the nose and palate. Spicy on finish. Nice wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2009 - ekenneth wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous palate of stewed plum and dark spice, wild mushroom and leather, a little fat, a little heat, with a nose of dark blackberry syrup, more fruit and less stink than I like in a Beaucastel. This is not subtle, and I can think of more interesting vintages of this, but it's big, delicious and will drink well for some time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2009 - rhit wrote: 90 Points
Light ruby color and somewhat cloudy. Dark nose of tar, camphor, blackberry, spice, and wood. Sharp on the palate, with roasted flavors, not too much fruit (a bit of dark berry liqueur), good freshness and tannins. The finish was good, but unremarkable. This was solid, but by no means mind-blowing. We'll see how another bottle is in a few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/30/2009 - paulst wrote: 90 Points
Initially tight later cherry and cassis with earth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/31/2009 - Miceri wrote: 90 Points
Blackberry, mulberry, but also slightly sharp nose; power and spice, to the sweet'ish side; slightly sharp also in the mouth. Quite soft tannins. Believe will improve further, but relatively nice now, except for the "sharpness".
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/24/2009 - sehill wrote: 85 Points
This wine was decanted and poured. It was tasted side by side with the 2003 Pegau CdP Cuvée Réservée. Unfortunately this wine failed to show as well as the Pegau. This wine on the bouquet and palate came across as stern, closed and unyielding. Time in the decanter failed to coax the wine into a more accessible profile. Based on this showing it is not clear if additional bottle age will resolve the stern, unyielding personality.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/11/2009 - JOsgood wrote: flawed
FLAT. Nose was muted and there was no finish at all. Mid palate with really pruney. Far below the quality of the last bottle I had over a year ago. This was dead in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/11/2009 - the godfather wrote: 89 Points
Very feminine for a Beau , not too complex but also not too ripe given the vintage
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/26/2009 - onewineheaven wrote: 85 Points
It just seemed overripe with clunky tannins. We also opened an '03 Gouges Chene whatever. In flavor profile, though one is Mouvedre, etcetera, etcetera etcetra, and the other is pinot, the flavor profile was very similar. Roasted plum--oh, I mean prune--flavors, chalky tannins, scorched earth. Not entirely unpleasant but I have better ways to spend my money. (So, why you ask, did I buy a second bottle? I'm wondering too.)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2009 - kanjimoti wrote: 84 Points
Upon opening I thought this bottle of 03 Beaucastel was corked. No fruit was present showing nothing but funk on the nose. After an hour the wine gave up a touch of raspberry and oak with something tertiary in the background but was anything but aromatic. On the palate the Beaucastel was thin like an 02 Cote du Rhone. It wasn't corked but needless to say Michael and I were disappointed. I'm in the habit of bringing a second bottle to put into play in case this happens. It's understandable that from time to time a bottle can be off as wine is an evolving and fickle creature. The other bottle? A fabulous 1996 Grande Damne.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/28/2009 - Baron Samedi wrote:
On the nose, elegant and complex aromas. The palate initially seemed hollow with a total absence of fruit, leaving a spiced, slightly bitter aftertaste. With time, the wine fleshed out a bit but was still dominated by spice elements and very little fruit. Possibly this is due to heat damage or a reflection of the hot climatic conditions.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/7/2009 - swyang wrote: 91 Points
beautiful red ruby. surprisingly high pitch nose for a chateauneuf du pape. Smoke wood(quite a bit of it) marzipan, pine tree, and of course red, dark berries, and fig(!!).
On the palate, very pleasant and again surprisingly refined texture in the mid palate, and a taut finish which I am sure would fade away with years and leaving
the wine a lot more interesting than what it is now. A very nice wine indeed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/14/2009 - kantmakem wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. Will need some time. We had it at Table 52 Valentine's Day with Amit Asha and Kellie. Barack Obama showed up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2009 - onewineheaven wrote: 87 Points
This seems unusual for Beaucastel. It's lite with some red berry, italian spice and a touch of camphor. It is not unattractive at all right now; it just seems truncated. From the taste, look, and appearance of the wine I would say it has been heavily manipulated with fining and filtering. Like other wines so treated there's no there there. It lacks presence. Wine is unpredicatable so maybe it will surprise with time but as President Lindberg said: "I have a doubt."
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2008 - Nutty08 wrote: 90 Points
Had on the same night as a '96 Grange, and this was completely outclassed, but still good. Fruit forward nose with raspberry, garrigue, and hint of smoke. Smooth round palate, very focused, adding some fig, leather and tobacco notes, with quite a bit if heat on the back end. Finish was medium in length, not especially complex. I'm with some others questioning the aging potential of this wine, seems a little too hot and lacking structure to be as long lived as other Beaucastel's, but still a fruit forward, well made, enjoyable wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2008 - amred wrote: 93 Points
We had in a mini-Beaucastel vertical (1998-2004), and this was a favorite. Color still dark, nose was fruity, no barynard, and quite fruit-forward in the mouth. Unlike other notes, we didn't find it thin, closed or out of balance. Interestingly, the other notes suggest a thinness or lack of fruit, and of course 2003 was the hot year with very high alcohol and extract. We were on the lookout, but at this stage, it did not seem too hot, or out of balance. Most felt it would age well, an often-mentioned concern for the vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2008 - winelovr2001 wrote: 90 Points
A closed and tight CdP. Nose shows some spice and just a hint of menthol. The palate shows bing cherry, fig, and is slightly overripe. Needs a couple of years to bring it all together.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2008 - cct wrote: 92 Points
Opened 24 hours pre tasting.
Dark ruby n color, with raspberry ganache, and a perfumey nature not dissimilar to the '01, albeit less fine. Less pruney of a nose than I would have expected based on others' take on this wine. iodne and blody meat, with a meaty-mushroom thing going on. I really liked the minerality and darkness of this wine. 92 pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2008 - Afrazer wrote: 89 Points
Opened and poured. This is my first Ch. Beaucastle CdP that I picked up on a closeout. Compared to other CdP this was a weak effort - the wine appeared ripe and raisiny with very little in the way fruit. The wine did begin to flesh out towards the last half of the bottle and became more interesting. Next time I will open and decant for a couple of hours to see if it improves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2008 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
Opens with aromas of dark fruit and an earthy pungent note but quickly shows a pruny/raisiny aroma. Lots of dark fruit on the palate, with firm tannins and a subtle sweetness. Ends with drying tannins and a raisiny edge to the fruit. $80.99.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2008 - wineywhites wrote: 91 Points
When we first opened it, lots of tannins, and we could hardly taste the fruit. Obviously this wine will be around for a while. Decanted for about 45 minutes, and got fabulous softness, but still with background. Lots of raisiny stewed cherries, but did not taste the heat of the alcohol that some have mentioned. Definitely from a very hot vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2008 - Siggy wrote: 88 Points
Tasting Group Dinner w/ Kevin Sidders - Steaks & Bordeaux (Our House): Thick, ripe black cherry, pepper, plum, and garrigue flavors. On the palate, this comes across as roasted and raisined, although this bottle wasn't as stewed and hot as the one I tasted at the domaine last year (see TN). A forward, low-acid Beaucastel that kind of grew on me. I honestly have no idea how this will age, although my instincts are to drink these sooner rather than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Bordeaux at Siggy's: As if I needed more wine at this point. Popped and poured. The color is a deep, dark red. The nose this is a slightly obnoxious blend of pepper, ripe cherry fruit and garrigue. Tastes much better than it smells to me at this point, featuring more cherry fruit that is very ripe, but with good underlying structure. Flavors are impressively expansive. The finish is nice, but is extremely tannic at this point. I'm more optimistic about the long term prognosis for this wine, but will plan to keep my hands off them for many years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/25/2008 - dbkitc wrote: flawed
(at Christopher Daniel – Baltimore) Garnet. Some cherry fruit. Something seemed a bit off with this bottle – I think it was slightly corked.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/9/2008 - Red Loki wrote: 90 Points
Too young, great potential.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/26/2008 - Stickan wrote: 91 Points
Medium red, good on the nose, firm strong tannins. Long aftertaste, not too much fruits, some sweetnes. Young, need more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2008 - PDavisMarble wrote: 93 Points
Excellent, big wine. Fruity with limestone, tannin, grape and lead and blackberry. Still much too young, though highly pleasant. Surprisingly good pair with swordfish at request of our guests.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2008 - steffenpelz wrote:
Excellent bottle yet again. This seems like the Mourvedre content is high because I get an almost Bandol-like flavor spectrum on this wine, but it stays true to Chateauneuf with lots of powerful garrigue and kirsch. Finishes amazing, and the amount of sediment on this bottle at this early stage of development is remarkable. I have not tasted many 03s from CdP, but this remains my favorite by far. Just a great experience and for me, this is a wine I can't have enough of.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2008 - JOsgood wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for one hour, fantastic bottle of ripe CDP. The vibrant nose of considerable complexity. On the palate a big, ripe wine with a range of flavors. The finish is so long with many different tastes. Everyone loved it. Thanks to Mr. Capilouto for picking this up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/6/2008 - d'Artagnan wrote: 87 Points
Février 2008: dégustation verticale du Château Beaucastel (Steaf Frites Saint Paul (avenue Laurier)): Verticale Beaucastel: Nez plutôt résineux, caoutchouc, fruit rouge confit. Texture agréable mais le vin est tout d’un bloc, le fruit en retrait face à la structure. N’a pas la belle richesse du 2004 pour contrebalancer l’alcool. Creux en milieu de bouche, pas beaucoup de fraicheur. Franchement décevant pour la propriété et le prix, même si le vin est loin d’être mauvais. 87 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/21/2007 - tacman wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 3 hours prior to tasting, clearly of benefit. Higher % of Grenache shines through, with brighter fruit than a "typical" young Beaucastel.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/4/2007 - M-driver wrote:
I picked-up this bottle at a local shop for a fairly decent price and decided to pop it tonight. Honestly, at this point, my expectations weren't that high. Boy, was I wrong. This wine is drinking extremely well at the moment. Great notes of raspberry, tobacco, smoke and earth. Extremely lush mouthfeel with excellent structure. Continued to get better in the glass as the evening wore on. I'll be looking for more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2007 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tight with a good firm clubbing over the cabeza of new oak and a powdery tannin feel. Raspberry and not much else. Needs a whole lotta time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 92 Points
Chateauneuf-du-Pape dinner (Canyon Lodge American Grill - Laguna Beach, CA): A wonderful CdP. Seductive aromas of raspberry, cocoa powder, and truffles. Sweet and mouth-filling flavors of black cherry, plum and spice. A plush wine that should only get better with time and my WOTN.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2007 - igaf wrote:
Tasted a glass only from 0,75 and decided not to buy. Not to say it's bad, but seemed somewhat out of balance and certainly not to my taste, also not sure it'll improve much. Dark, concentrated, big though not over the top. Lots of sweet fruitiness: dark berries, plums.. Very surprised that some other tasters didn't find any barnyard scent here, I thought it obvious. Also some leather, but all the aromas did not mix up (yet?). Tannins were rather soft, but accidity was on the lower side and it really seemed too hot and quite harsh. Especially in the aftertaste which was just very alcoholic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2007 - amateurwino wrote: 86 Points
Eh. Doesn't live up to $70 a btl for me. From USQ 100 wine tasting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/7/2007 - mouton45 wrote: 91 Points
Stumbled upon the last five 375 mls at a big wine clearance sale -- $22.99 per. I was going to buy the 750's at $55, but this obviously was a better deal. So I popped and poured one last night at my in-laws. Went great with a leftover portion of Angus beef short ribs that I had for lunch at Commander's. First impression of the 03 Beau: I was a little surprised this was not as big as others I have -- 96, 98, 99, 00 and 01 vintages. The nose was initially closed -- probably notl that surprising considering it just came out of a 375. But on the last glass I picked up dark berries, licorce and forest-y scents. A little lean but again the last glass was the best -- probably because it got more air time. I didn't find this as tannic as described by some tasters, but to each his own. Had a nice finish - 30+. My luck to be in the right place at the right time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2007 - rmodak wrote: 90 Points
I think this is starting to close down a bit. It is much more lean and ungiving than the previous 375 ml I had 8 months ago. Lots of forest brush, slightly angular raspberry, tar, and hugely tannic finish. This started to open a bit after an hour in the decanter, and undoubtedly will be better. If you must drink, decant for hours. It was much less impressive than the 1998 served as a comparison.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/4/2007 - steffenpelz wrote:
Popped and poured from a 375ml bottle. Deep, dark, and brooding. This wine seems almost atypically dense for Chateauneuf with what must be a high percentage of Syrah and Mourvedre. Nose is slightly closed at first but opens up with some time to reveal dried herbs, blackberries, currants, and licorice. Superb texture and long finish round out this experience. My favorite 2003 CdP that I have tried so far by a long shot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/28/2007 - EricB wrote: 90 Points
Very, very good. Thought this would be difficult to drink due to the heat of 2003, but it really is nicely balanced. Good powerful wine, but does not overpower the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2007 - abbulf wrote:
Australia and Rhone at Haukeland Sykehus (Haukeland Sykehus, Bergen, Norway): Dark aromas on the nose. It is a bit too sweet and artificial for my taste. Licorice. The nose is like an Australian, rather intense but sweet. A bit pale on the front palate. Some pepper. Neither is it very long. This is disappointing.
In the glass it is gradually improving with air. After a little while it is showing more of both tannins and acidity. It is probably a good wine that is closed up right now and need some time yet before it should be drunk.
Had another glass after the tasting: Less sweetness on the nose. Lots of tannins and much more power on the palate. It has opened up a bit, but is still very young. Now it is very good, and will probably improve immensely from cellaring.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/20/2007 - KPB wrote: 84 Points
Purple. Roasted, syrupy aromas here: the primary impression is of strawberry jam, but I also find hints of robotusin cough syrup. Seems stewed and unbalanced with a hot and slightly bitter finish. And the wine is also angular: the components don't fit tother at all well. Overall, this wine is very disappointing -- reminds me of Vieux Telegraph, a wine I typically don't like! I have 9 left but will probably try to think of some way to get rid of most of them...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2007 - DFC wrote: 94 Points
On the nose, floral notes and herbs. On the palate, plums and leather in a refined, smooth package. Very pleasant surprise based on Parker's notes!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2007 - ScottG wrote: 94 Points
2003 Chateauneuf at Le Pichet- moving on up the food chain. (Le Pichet, Seattle, WA): Really nice. Balanced and pure. No overt flaws, but not a blockbuster. This will be a nice Beau in 10 years. Under-rated and overlooked by Parker, IMO.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2007 - tanglenet wrote:
At a tasting at the Wine Club SF. Dark purple in color; sweet raisin and must on the nose and palate with a short finish and drying tannins. Very disappointed with this. Mediocre to Fair.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2006 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
An interesting and controversial wine. I enjoyed this with Jason Goldberger over the course of 3.5 hours. At first it was very ripe with lots of raspberry jam, heat, bramble and stemminess. Not a pleasant nose. The palate was better but hot and quite stemmy. However, over the course of the meal it transformed, integrating the alcohol. Lots of intense, brambly Grenache, much less stem, much less heat. I went from thinking that this was interesting but flawed (86 points) to thinking that it actually is a reasonably strong wine (89-90 points) that may well improve considerably over the next decade. I would be surprised if this is ever a great vintage of Beaucastel, but in time I suspect it will improve and be a very nice, ripe vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2006 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Chateauneuf du Pape BYO Dinner (DUO, Miami): CdP BYO dinner at DUO, Miami. Best wine of the flight. Like all the 03's rich forward fruit, but lacks the complexity of the Pegau, or the Chaupin. All of the 03's drink exceptionally well now, and I believe like the 2000 Bordeaux's will also mature exceptionally well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2006 - llink wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby color. Briary, brambly, briney nose. Well integrated and somewhat soft nose. Nice mouthfilling palate, with a touch of dryness. Did not have the deep, intense flavors of the VT or the Cristia. Refined tannins and a medium finish round out the wine. This was not as intense as the others tasted, but I liked it the best. It has progressed from my first taste earlier in the year, and does not show any sign of bretty, horsey flavors.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/3/2006 - JR Encanto wrote:
drank this before its times. This will be an incredible wine but it was too tight even after 1 1/2 hours of opening. Even later in the evening it didn't open up. thougth it would do well with rack of lamb, however, it needed more age to unfold its licorice and smoke and herb flavors that are prevalent in this wonderful wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/2/2006 - kris.h wrote: 90 Points
Remember that old Wendy's commercial with the three old ladies and poke and prod a hamburger and finally one exclaims, "Where's the beef!?" Well, this is kind of like that except instead of "Where's the beef?" it's "Where's the Beaucastel?" This is nice southern rhone wine that is heavy in grenache. There's lots of kirschy fruit, with some earth and leather in the distant background. The palate is well structured and has a nice level of acidity with a medium length finish. 50 + 5 + 11 + 16 + 8. After about 10 hours of air this is drinking nicely. On initial opening it's a kirschy one dimentional mess but after several hours it gains complexity. Overall, a good wine but lacks some of the character that I love in Beaucastel's wines.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2006 - JBVino wrote:
Another disappointing 2003 (especially from one of my top 3 favorite wineries anywhere)...hot, disjointed and simple. What I love about Beaucastel (mouvedre) are all the secondary flavors...yes young but I do not think they will ever appear in this wine. Hopefully proven wrong....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/24/2006 - jwwinec wrote: 91 Points
Aromas of ripe raspberry fruit, eath, and spices. Dense and silky on the palate, this shows more ripe fruit with some distinctive Beaucastel funk. Compared to some other great Beau vintages, this is not as rich, seeming a tad hollow on the mid-palate, and shows a bit of heat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2006 - peterkj wrote:
Chateauneuf-du-Pape og vildt (CSC Vinklub, Valby): Smag: Tanniner. Pris 450 kr. Karakter: 9-10
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/2/2006 - trankin wrote: 91 Points
Dinner with Pat G (Pluckemin Inn): Notes from memory. Decanted for an hour, drunk over the following hour. This was very un-Beaucastel like. All about the fruit, with little, if any, of the typical earthiness. Wonderful fruit - raspberries predominantly. Very nice wine - pure, lush, fruit-driven. Nicely in balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/4/2006 - steffenpelz wrote: 94 Points
From a 375ml. Dark ruby red color. Impressive and exotic nose of spices, tree bark, red and black fruit, dried herbs, plum and figs. On the palate, the wine is massive and chewy, but doesn't display any sweetness that one may anticipate based on the nose. There's a lot of old world-ness and freshness to this wine that is imply stunning. The fruit is pure and laser focused and shows tremendous depth. This wine imparts an almost cooling sensation on the tongue and the texture is super-silky. The finish is long and shows off some pretty fruit, leather, and more dried spice. Lush wine that will only get better. My favorite 2003 CdP so far and I am bummed not to own more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2006 - KPB wrote: 92 Points
Deeply saturated purple, almost impenetrable. Sweet aromas of cassis, red plums, cinnamon, toffee, hints of game. Very rich and dense, chewy, concentrated sweet fruits, long finish with substantial tannins. Acidity low compared to "classic" beaucastel. Alcohol a bit high, but no other signs of the hot vintage at all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2006 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Tasted at the domaine. Minimal notes taken. I remember thinking I liked this tasting better than the bottle tasted at our Beaucastel vertical. Very tannic. Long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2006 - Siggy wrote:
France Trip Part 1 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 6/16/2006-6/17/2006: Tasted at the domaine. Smoky notes and stewed, raisiny fruit. This wine had a roasted character and showed some heat. Compared with some of the other 2003s we tried on our visit, this bottle was not impressive.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Tasted at the domaine. Less impressive than a very nice bottle of the '03 a few months ago (see TN). Slightly raisiny. Dusty, chocolatey tannins. A bit hot. It's somewhat lacking in freshness and balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/9/2006 - Siggy wrote: 92 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - 12 Years of Beaucastel (JP's American Bistro, Minneapolis): This wine undoubtedly suffered in comparison to the much bigger Alban, but it was hardly a meek wine in its own right. Deep black/red color. Kirsch/garrigue, with a slight herbal note on the midpalate. Fiercely tannic. Promising, but clearly needs more time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/1/2006 - Imagination wrote: 94 Points
This is our third bottle since purchasing two cases last year. Dense, deep, rich flavors of berries and leather. The nose has cherries and a lushiness about it aromas. Grenache should always be this good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/26/2006 - Sweet Nancy wrote: flawed
Consumed at an offline featuring 2003 CdP. Slightly corked. Good fruit hiding under the musty notes. Can't evaluate since the musty profile was playing hide and seek. I will pass on future deals.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2006 - Mattswines wrote: 90 Points
Very fruit forward for a Beaucastel bottling. Drank over 2 days from magnum and never got harsh tannins nor a feeling of need for long-term aging. Would guess that 750's are ready to go and best over the next 6-8 years.... will probably consume my other maggie in that time period as well. Drink young.. not our typical Beau.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/30/2006 - Chuck Miller wrote: 86 Points
Just not my style, least favorite Beau for a long time. Hard to drink more than a glass or two.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/23/2006 - ken-yyz wrote: 93 Points
Clearly a different blend from the traditional Beaucastel. The nose clearly shows the grenache character of the vintage with cherries, spice and a little bit of earth. Not even a hint of barnyard.
On the palate, the 2003 is lush and just a tad rustic, medium to full bodied and goes through several waves of darker fruits intermixed with some earth and spice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2006 - beachbum wrote: 93 Points
From half bottle picked up a week and a half ago. I generally have not gone wrong with Beau over the years, but this is a different animal. Was diying to try over the course of an evening. Initially no nose, decanted, bit of funk, left it for a bit. Started to open, really only got green tar(which is what i have been getting from these wines on release since 1998, much different than the 88/90/94/95. Very dense black color. During dinner, taste of sweet cherry cough syrup, round and light, you can taste the heat/dried fruit, harsh on the back end - I think it was the high alcohol, niether my wife nor I were impressed. My last glass an hour later, the nose is about the same, but the palate has stepped up a few notches. Now I get the big plush mouthfeel, the intense still cherry fruit with the rhoney black licorice and leather bite and some tannins on the finish. Yes, this is now showing Beaucastel!! Yum. But this is a dark brooding Beau, not really my fav, and will drink early. Will be a take it or leave it wine. The higher alcohol means I do not want to drink it old. Start - 89 pts, now 93, tasting it a bit like i remember the 1990 was young, but not the nose - yet? The appeal is the very solid fruit. I got a case, I will not buy more, but nor will I sell them.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/7/2006 - Double-A Likes this wine: 88 Points
Earth, nut, currant and kirsch nose. Warming palate with red berry and spicy herb flavours; long finish.
3.5/5
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/21/2006 - Chuck Miller wrote: 85 Points
Simple, grapey. Kirsch and high-toned notes. A huge disappointment. Sell?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2006 - Rob MacKay wrote: 92 Points
Tastes great even this young but also has so much potential for aging well over the next ten years. The hot 2003 vintage shows up in this big wine with very ripe fruit on the nose and tightly wound tannins that need some time to unwrap themselves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/27/2006 - chefee1 wrote: 90 Points
Deep black ruby. Super ripe nose but not overripe. Black fruit confit, provencal herbs, leather and a distinctly salty aroma. Sweet and rich with herbs d'Provence, blackberry liquer and earth flavors with a stony undertone. Very big tannins but thery are ripe. This seems quite dosjointed now but should harmonize into something quite nice over the next 10 to 20 years. Not quite as defined as the 2001 but still quite an impressive mouthful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/11/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
From a 375 ml bottle. Deep, somewhat sweet red raspberry / cherry fruit. Good weight / texture / structure. Reminds me a bit of the '98, which I tried a few times just after release. The person with whom I shared the bottle thought that this was perhaps slightly more impressive than the '98 when it was released... We were both impressed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/14/2005 - christopher wish wrote: 93 Points
a monster of a wine. all wood when first opened, but slowly sharp stabs of over ripe strawberries peaked through. later, it began rounding out...somewhat. the wood settled after a few hours. very good wine. needs lots of time to reach its peak
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2005 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 95 Points
Despite being three years older, the colour is almost identical to the 2001, possibly just a little bit more mature. A deep, deep nose with loads and loads of blueberry fruit. There is none of the usual Beaucastel farmyard and brett on the nose. A lovely attack. Round, full and very expressive. Lots of excellent character. Really lovely fruit with great concentration. Spicy tannins appear towards the finish. Very length. Very Good Indeed++/Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment