Community Tasting Note

vinpre wrote:

Sunday, October 31, 2010 - This particular bottle came from a full case purchased pre-arrival from a San Francisco wine merchant when first offered and stored in a temperature and humidity controlled cellar since taking delivery. We stood the bottle upright for 24 hours for the sediment to settle and to allow the wine to slowly warm up to cool room temperature (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit) before opening. After removing the top of the capsule, I was surprised that the top of the cork was completely clean with no mold and no signs of seepage. Six of the bottles from this case were drunk ten years ago due to leaking corks and low mid-shoulder fills (each bottle was spectacular, despite their unpromising initial appearances).

With this bottle, the bottom tip of the cork was about 27 mm above the wine. The cork came out in two pieces; the bottom quarter of the cork broke off just the before clearing the top of the neck. All of the corks from the 1989 and 1990 Beaucastels that I have seen are damp with saturation for most, if not all, of their lengths; this particular cork was pretty typical. The sides of the cork were damp to the touch with purple staining that ran almost the entire the length of the cork, save for a 3mm to 5mm band near the top. This bottle was imported by Robert Hass Selections/Vineyard Brands and appears to have been shipped in a refrigerated container from France. After opening, I decanted to get the wine off the very heavy sediment and to let it breathe. Similar to the 1990 opened last week, a small pour directly from the bottle showed very well. The sediment in the bottom punt was extremely heavy, and there was a fine dusting of sediment adhered to the inside of the bottle in a one to four centimeter wide stripe running from the upper shoulder to near the bottom where the deposit had settled as the bottle lay on its side in the cellar.

After letting the wine sit for 75+ minutes in the decanter, we poured a small taste into Impitoyable No. 3 stems. The color was ruby-garnet with a slightly paler garnet meniscus. Like the 1990, the wine is full bodied with a multitude of thick, slow running legs that coat the interior of the glass after swirling. From these glasses, the bouquet explodes from the bowl with aromas of ripe black cherries, ripe black plums, ripe raspberries, ripe – but not overripe – strawberries, black licorice, cinnamon, sandalwood, hickory smoke, espresso, lavender and thyme. Compared with the 1990, the fruit flavors in the 1989 are slightly more concentrated and fresher: the aromas in the 1989 are those from fully ripe, as opposed to overripe, black and red fruits.

The subtle saddle leather note in the first glass poured directly from the bottle had completely blown off in the decanter. This is entirely consistent with my experience with older red Beaucastels: if you decant them for 60 minutes before serving, any leather, meat, and animal/barnyard notes will completely blow off. If you do not like these leather, meat and animal notes, then you should decant the wine and try a small sample before serving. If the animal scents are too strong, then let the wine sit in a decanter for 60 minutes: the evolution in the decanter is quite dramatic and well worth the wait.

On the palate, the first impression is one of sweetness from the concentrated fruit flavors, despite being fermented completely dry. The flavors are black cherry jam, tree-ripened black plums, raspberry tart filling, and sliced ripe strawberries, followed by black licorice, cinnamon, mocha, Asian spices and Provencal herbs, with some nice minerality and ripe tannins emerging on the long finish timed at 90+ seconds. Wow! Despite 1989 being another warm year vintage, the acidity is excellent and provides a sense of freshness and vibrancy for the ripe fruit flavors. As the cork dried, a fine dusting of tiny tartaric acid crystals appeared on the stained sides and bottom tip where the cork had become saturated. Based on this bottle, the 1989 Beaucastel regular Chateauneuf du Pape is now mature but will easily hold in a cool, humid cellar in 750 ml bottles due to the still-present ripe tannins. The biggest concern with holding either the 1989 or 1990 Beaucastel reds any further is the deteriorating condition of the corks. Both the 1989 and 1990 Beaucastels had more than their fair share of leakers, and even the non-leakers have near-fully saturated corks and may start leaking soon. Chateau Beaucastel changed their corks shortly thereafter; corks pulled recently from bottles of the 1993 and 1994 appear pristine and unsaturated as though they were from the 2005 and 2006 vintages. Magnums and larger formats of the 1989 should be close to full maturity and should be drinking beautifully. If you plan to hold them longer, or buy them at auction, make sure the fills are good and the corks remain sound. Rating: 98

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