2009 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Community Tasting Note
Honest Horse Likes this wine:
Saturday, December 16, 2023 - Nose: floral, tar, black cherry, orange peel, stewed fruit, cedar
Palate: peppery plum and stewed fruit, leather, fennel, coffee
ALERT: DON’T BE A LEMMING. This is muted and boring AF if you PnP or decant 30 minutes. Maybe it was a pretty caterpillar to all those saying short decant, but who doesn’t prefer the butterfly? You will absolutely miss out on its best attributes without say 2.5 hours decant.
Popular wine so no need to rehash things. These 09s are a bit sus, because as much as they were well regarded, the whole no rain, low yield, hot and dry might have actually pushed them a little far into dried fruit dustiness and away from a juicier built-to-last vintage.
That said, I found this excellent, maybe slightly muted, just terse and dusty on the finish, but overall harmonious and drinking well now and for another decade, although the fruit won’t last.
It’s always hard to beat these at the price point. Beaucastel really doesn’t miss. Would score higher if the vintage hadn't cooked the fruit so much.
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