April 22, 2024 - See previous notes. Kirsch, Lavender, garrigue, and minerality. Medium acidity and tannins. Medium plus finish. Still a little tight. Good showing. Out of a 375 ml.
April 17, 2024 - Shared bottle with my wife at TORC in Napa, which has a lot of mushroom & truffle dishes. Full bodied for a Beaucastel with beautiful fruit & depth. Paired wonderfully with everything, including dark chocolate ice cream
March 30, 2024 - Drank Remy, wonderful wine with low moderate tannin.
March 20, 2024 - "Lions Share" tasting note is a great descriptor of this wine, my score was less but the tasting note is on point. These wines to me need 10-15 years to get that secodnary profile. This was still primary but the value of this wine is off the charts
March 14, 2024 - Either in a protracted reduction phase or simply punching above its (current) weight, this very pricey bottle left us unimpressed. Shy notes of cassis, blackberries, liquorice, garrigue pencilshave and earthy notes in the finish. To be revisited in some years.
March 9, 2024 - My first taste of the 2016. Another luscious Beaucastel triumph. A wine like this one makes the waiting worth it. This leads with cassis, then layers of fruit, both red and black. The core is fully integrated with notes of licorice, cedar, and garrigue. Wonderfully polished. Very focused.
I decanted for an hour before serving. The wine develops considerably in the glass. A serving drank slowly offers an interesting evolution with the various elements of the core taking turns playing the leading role.
February 26, 2024 - My first look at this. Opens with a nice nose of cherry, red berries, floral and herbal notes. Medium body, ripe fruit, nice balance, very clean… I miss the old Beaucastel funk. But this is one of the few Châteauneufs that haven’t gone over-the-top ripe. Medium finish. Too young for any aged complexity yet but drinking well as it is. Gets richer and deeper over the course of 2 hours. Excellent.
February 19, 2024 - Decanted for four hours prior to tasting.
Medium dark Ruby color; umami-laden nose.
Dark and integrated blue/black fruit. Rich and balanced. This is an outstanding Beaucastel that is just beginning to hit its stride. It’s wonderful right now, and it still has some upside.
February 19, 2024 - Wonderful fruity nose. Really delicious and jammy on the tongue. Very complex. Very smooth tannins. This is really something special. I’m glad I have 5 more. Decanted to get the sediment out (very little) and consumed immediately over the next 2 hours or so.
February 17, 2024 - Bouquet of ripe blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, jam, mint. Fantastic palate, smooth, lush, ripe berries, more jam, minty and fresh elements, a bit of grip, tingling with sweet and fresh impressions for quite a while. Great wine, already in a good place to drink.