3/3/21, 4:26 AM - Take it from one that has followed d'Arenberg and Dead Arm since the mid-1990s. Dead Arm ages spectacularly well, but at a glacial pace. If you open your next bottle in 2027 it will taste almost exactly as it does today (which is still a great taste, but you expect to see something in return for keeping a wine 10 years in the cellar). Only when these great wines turn about 15 years old, they start to enter the second stage of their development and at 20 years you will truly be wow'ed! Enjoy.
12/7/13, 12:03 PM - Definately no rush openening this wine. As stated, it drinks very well now, but has not peaked yet. That being said, it is more fruit driven than more classic Gigondas like Raspail-Ay and St. Cosme and will probably not keep as well as these two. I think I will drink my remaining bottles over the next 3-4 years.
3/2/11, 5:49 AM - I wouldn't give a 15 year old Bordeaux like this 15+ hours of air. Didn't you try it just after popping the cork?
6/14/10, 9:41 PM - I think you will understand it even better, when you get a fully mature bottle.
6/14/10, 11:31 AM - Interesting to hear that is is so approachable already. In more "normal" vintages Dom. de Chevalier really needs a lot of time to come around.
6/3/10, 1:51 AM - Sounds excellent - since you still call it young (and a Beaucastel from a good vintage is young for a loooooong time), how long time will you project it needs to mature?
6/1/10, 5:01 AM - judging from the past couple of year's tasting notes of the 98, it seems like it is only now at 12 years old it starts to show. I have yet to open any of mine for the same reason (but is very tempted to try one soon).
5/25/10, 7:42 AM - How about maturity and further potential? Do you think it will improve further?
5/16/10, 2:50 AM - I think you are right - the initial fruit is wearing out and the wine needs time to mature now.
5/10/10, 12:50 PM - I for one can only second how incredible well Ironstone matures
5/8/10, 8:10 AM - Sounds great - I have been circling around my last bottle of this for a while now... sounds like it is just at about right now
5/7/10, 12:36 AM - This is an incredibly interesting wine (although I tend to prefer the Brand VT. from the same vintage). I agree that it should hold for quite a while, but doubt it will improve much.
5/7/10, 12:25 AM - Sounds great - I think I will try to keep my hands of my 98s a little longer.
5/6/10, 6:44 AM - Considering the price, you would expect so much more than this.
5/5/10, 6:08 AM - When you mention your "favorite of the evening" - are you talking about Ms. Feraud or the wine? Jokes aside. I would not presume to disagree with Ms. Feraud in her estimates on how long it will shut down, but did she say anything about when she expects the 2007 to peak?
5/4/10, 1:16 PM - I have not opened any of my bottles yet, but am amazed by the lengthy decanting most tasters advocate.
5/4/10, 1:04 PM - sounds like a seriously good night. Interesting that a almost perfect vintage that should start to close in on maturity is topped by the young 2001. A similar "showdown" would be interesting in another 10 years.
5/4/10, 1:00 PM - It does sound like an off bottle
5/4/10, 12:58 PM - Beaucastel is one of the great classics in my book - and I can promise you that the 2001 will continue to improve as you predict.
5/4/10, 12:53 PM - I had this recently, and found it to be in much better balance than you describe here. Perhaps it was decanted to much for a 15 year old wine?
5/4/10, 12:11 AM - I think the ½ bottle is helping this one on its way. In my experience Dom. de Chevalier is one of the more restrained wines around in its youth.
4/30/10, 11:43 PM - Sounds very good - but is this wine just for drinking young, or does it hold some potential for further aging? (PS: In my experience, there is indeed a thing like travel shock - so rather safe than sorry :))
4/27/10, 2:52 AM - it really proves that also the "lesser" (a term that does not go well when talking about Zind-Humbrecht) wines of this great house also age very well.
4/27/10, 2:50 AM - Very nice and detailed note. I guess that the acidity would be more balanced in a couple of years.
4/27/10, 2:31 AM - I agree 100% - I understand that these wines create a great fuzz, but they seem to be made to work on a "one-sip-only" basis. That way you have the wow-factor without having to try to get through a whole glass let alone a whole bottle.
4/27/10, 2:26 AM - It is a remarkable wine that really needs time to come around. I had the 1994 just recently, and that was also beautiful. I would imagine that the 2000 would be even better given the vintage.
4/27/10, 2:20 AM - Did you decant it before drinking it? This is still fairly young for a Beaucastel, so I would imagine that it needs a bit of air to open up. I will also hang on to my bottles for some years more.
4/27/10, 2:15 AM - I fully agree that this is a very very good wine, which is closing in on full maturity. But will it be even better in the future?
4/27/10, 2:13 AM - This is a wonderful wine indeed - and is drinking very well now as your note clearly states, but don't you think that there is further evolution ahead of this wine?
4/26/10, 5:22 AM - How about anticipated maturity and lifespan?
4/26/10, 5:20 AM - It is a beauty indeed - and perfectly mature by now (but should keep for another decade)
4/26/10, 5:15 AM - A mature bottle from a classic Château in a classic vintage is pretty hard to beat - and Branaire in my opinion is really a safe bet to fulfil that role.
4/25/10, 6:36 AM - yes, patience is a virtue that is challenged in the cellar.
4/24/10, 8:26 AM - Fascinating how the majority of notes of this wine keeps calling it young. I wonder how long time it will need to mature. 25 or 30 years?
4/24/10, 8:23 AM - The complexity will come for sure. But you will have to wait some years (10+) for it to fully mature
4/24/10, 8:21 AM - Hard do disagree - do you think it will improve over time?
4/21/10, 8:40 AM - This is such a magnificent wine in 1996 - It rivals (IMHO) Cuvée Winston Churchil in lesser vintages. It should mature for decades more.
4/21/10, 1:14 AM - How about maturity? Is this Dominus fully mature now or will it evolve further?
4/20/10, 2:43 AM - I have had similar experience like this with other vintages of Cabrieres - they are not bad per se, but incredibly dull when they are like this.
4/20/10, 2:36 AM - nice notes: I think that Alan Geddes of Ch. de Mayragues is producing one of the best dry whites in the region. Really worth trying out.
4/20/10, 2:31 AM - How well do you think this will keep? Pinots are always (IMHO) hard to predict, and with the likes of SQN we hardly have any reference points at all. I have not tasted this one (yet), but have got one bottle. The question is if keeping it further will do it any good.
4/20/10, 2:27 AM - Very nice notes - I will look so much forward to trying this one later this year.
4/20/10, 2:18 AM - I am not very familiar with the "evolution curve" of Spottswoode - how long time would you guess that it needs from now?
4/20/10, 2:16 AM - Hard to beat a classic estate in a classic vintage. I have one bottle of this beauty left and is undecided if I should drink it sooner rather than later. What is your estimate of the potential from now on?
4/20/10, 2:15 AM - Although definitely more mature and approachable now than it has ever been, I doubt we have seen the peak of this wine yet.
4/20/10, 2:12 AM - I have been tasting the 98 regularly since release and agrees that is is really a classic wine which is drinking beautifully now. But what is your view of its potential from now on. It should keep for a long time, but will it evolve further?
4/20/10, 2:09 AM - I agree - let us hope that it lives up the the expectations in ten or twenty years.
4/19/10, 1:04 AM - Good to hear that the 95 is starting to come around. I have not tasted it in years, but have not dared to open any from my cellar just yet. I have always believed that this one would need 15-20 years to mature.
4/19/10, 1:01 AM - That does indeed not sound right. I had this a couple of months ago and that bottle was very good and classical elegant.
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