Cork looks great. Dark gold in the glass. Whoa! Super complex on the nose; apricots and almonds are my first impressions, but there’s so much more: cantaloupe (!), passionfruit, mandarin oranges, overripe yellow peaches, preserved lemons, beeswax, angel food cake, egg custard, toasted walnuts. I could go on and on.
Full bodied, medium low acidity, maybe a tiny bit of tannin, a hint of alcohol on the back end, long lingering finish that lasts and lasts. Like the nose, it is so complex in the mouth. Cantaloupe, lemon, baked grapefruit, pie crust, toasted almonds, a touch of spiciness that reminds me of extra virgin olive oil, and the bitterness of orange marmalade. This is not a wine of youth, it is one of maturity and sophistication. That is not to say that it is tired at all- it’s not! What an unusual and fascinating drink.
These Rhone whites are strange beasts; super complex and magnificent with age, but with low acidity and a sort of oily texture that can turn a lot of people off. Hey, I get it; these are very different wines than anything else out there.
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La Tablee: Celebratory Dinner (BYO) (26 Bridge Street, Brooklyn): Huge fan of this wine always and this time was no different. It's beautiful. Balanced and pretty. It is more of a mouthful but there's a balancing acidity here that I don't find as much in the Chave blanc. Drinking very nicely.
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This wine is quite close today. However, it is still very interesting to taste as it has started to evolve and taste different from the younger ones. Very interesting experience. Will wait another 5 years.
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Q2 - 2016 Tasting - The Rhone! - Another taster's perspective ((The Apt)): #1 of 16 wines tasted (double-blind) at a Rhone tasting. This was the only white in the lineup. This was my first experience with a Rhone white and I found it very interesting. The color in the glass was a darker shade of gold and it seemed to be more viscous then a typical white wine. Aromas were floral and herbal and quite pretty. On the palate this was a bit waxy (new for me) with nice fine tannins and a slightly floral and herbal taste. Quite nice - a white wine I would drink again as a predominantly red drinker.
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Q2 Tasting - The Rhone! (The Apt): Wine #1: Drank this blind although since we brought it I knew what was in the glass. The only white of the day which was interesting, but given this is my favorite white wine glad that it made an appearance. 2002 isn't the best vintage of this, but it did seem to be in a pretty good spot. Lemon lysol on the nose, on the palette it's a bit waxy (from the age), honey, hints of lime, some of that age-y flavor you get. Don't know why we always forget and serve this just a bit too cold, but it certainly was opening up and improving as it warmed to room temp. (2 pennies)
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Wow, real power here. Great nose of apricot and pineapple. Heavy, waxy, oily quality in the mouth. One of those good wine experiences but wouldn't want to sit down with one of these too often.
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Lunch with Pierre Perrin, Chateau Beaucastel (Chez Patrick, 26 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong): Made from 70 year-old vines, with surprisingly half the fruit fermented in stainless steel....which you wouldn't guess from the rich urine gold colour, which is "beyond yellow" as Pierre Perrin observed. Nose is really immediately enticing with opulence and complexity....star anise, honeysuckle and ripe warm pineapple, fresh ripe apricot, very honeyed, toasted white bread, marshmallow, hazelnut and some whiff of gasoline. Palate is very deep rich buttery, burnt caramel, slightly oily mouthfeel, viscous, acacia honey then nettles and then freshening up on the back end into fresh-sliced bananas. Some length and a touch of resonance inside the head on the finale. This is a seriously heavyweight white wine and paired perfectly with the Hokkaido scallop and black truffle portobello mushroom rillette.
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This wine has broken out. Mature but silky textures of marmalade, apricot, and stone. Very nice acidity underneath. Flavors improved steadily over the 2-hour drinking window.
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This was tired at the same time as the 2004 and though not in the same league was nevertheless delicious. Full of classic VV aromas and flavours - peach, apricot, mango, pineapple –just not as full, dense and complex as the best years. Still impressive and tasty…..
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HDR- Day 2 Seminars (Paso): Dark honey color. Big rich, honey and wax nose. Soft, but medium to full bodied. Slightly waxy on the palate. Very interesting, although not as expressive as I expected at this time. 89-90
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Nice gold color, great floral notes on the nose wit htropical fruit and cotton candy. On the pallette this wine has a nice viscosity expected of white rhone considering the vintage,again the floral concentration of the old vines is coming through, rich nice vanilla notes with tropical fruit and hints of toffee. Maybe a touch heavy on the oak, but altogether a great white for the Christmas time of year, especially if your having roast game birds.
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It all there right now—tropical fruits, especially pineapple, on nose and palate, oily viscosity, and an excellent, long finish. Much more than I was expecting from an "off vintage" wine. It won't age, but it's quite good now.
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Wine Icons tasting with Sarah Ahmed/Oddbins Fine Wine (Alba Restaurant, London): Clear, deep gold colour with a wide, sl watery rim. Clean, intense nose with floral, honeysuckle notes, marmalade, honey, lime and a creamy, toasty vanilla pod finish. Dry, intense and with a great length on the finish, lots of complexity - rhubarb, citrus, yellow plums. Not as harsh or as closed as expected, in fact very expressive. Others noted that the wine had been more expressive 6 months earlier and that it was perhaps entering into it's closed-down phase. Impressive, powerful but perfectly balanced wine. Not as powerful as other Roussanne VV have been - however given the washout vintage in which no red beaucastels were produced this is a fine effort. Fermentation in 50% new oak, 50% stainless steel. All vines in this cuvée are over 75 years old.
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5/27/2023 - NoahCap wrote:
Cork looks great. Dark gold in the glass. Whoa! Super complex on the nose; apricots and almonds are my first impressions, but there’s so much more: cantaloupe (!), passionfruit, mandarin oranges, overripe yellow peaches, preserved lemons, beeswax, angel food cake, egg custard, toasted walnuts. I could go on and on.
Full bodied, medium low acidity, maybe a tiny bit of tannin, a hint of alcohol on the back end, long lingering finish that lasts and lasts. Like the nose, it is so complex in the mouth. Cantaloupe, lemon, baked grapefruit, pie crust, toasted almonds, a touch of spiciness that reminds me of extra virgin olive oil, and the bitterness of orange marmalade. This is not a wine of youth, it is one of maturity and sophistication. That is not to say that it is tired at all- it’s not! What an unusual and fascinating drink.
These Rhone whites are strange beasts; super complex and magnificent with age, but with low acidity and a sort of oily texture that can turn a lot of people off. Hey, I get it; these are very different wines than anything else out there.
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2/2/2019 - MC2 Wines wrote:
La Tablee: Celebratory Dinner (BYO) (26 Bridge Street, Brooklyn): Huge fan of this wine always and this time was no different. It's beautiful. Balanced and pretty. It is more of a mouthful but there's a balancing acidity here that I don't find as much in the Chave blanc. Drinking very nicely.
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3/24/2018 - Sen4469 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is quite close today. However, it is still very interesting to taste as it has started to evolve and taste different from the younger ones. Very interesting experience. Will wait another 5 years.
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5/21/2016 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Q2 - 2016 Tasting - The Rhone! - Another taster's perspective ((The Apt)): #1 of 16 wines tasted (double-blind) at a Rhone tasting. This was the only white in the lineup. This was my first experience with a Rhone white and I found it very interesting. The color in the glass was a darker shade of gold and it seemed to be more viscous then a typical white wine. Aromas were floral and herbal and quite pretty. On the palate this was a bit waxy (new for me) with nice fine tannins and a slightly floral and herbal taste. Quite nice - a white wine I would drink again as a predominantly red drinker.
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5/21/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Q2 Tasting - The Rhone! (The Apt): Wine #1: Drank this blind although since we brought it I knew what was in the glass. The only white of the day which was interesting, but given this is my favorite white wine glad that it made an appearance. 2002 isn't the best vintage of this, but it did seem to be in a pretty good spot. Lemon lysol on the nose, on the palette it's a bit waxy (from the age), honey, hints of lime, some of that age-y flavor you get. Don't know why we always forget and serve this just a bit too cold, but it certainly was opening up and improving as it warmed to room temp. (2 pennies)
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3/5/2012 - Fur in the glass wrote:
Wow, real power here. Great nose of apricot and pineapple. Heavy, waxy, oily quality in the mouth. One of those good wine experiences but wouldn't want to sit down with one of these too often.
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12/4/2010 - Goldstone wrote: 91 Points
Lunch with Pierre Perrin, Chateau Beaucastel (Chez Patrick, 26 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong): Made from 70 year-old vines, with surprisingly half the fruit fermented in stainless steel....which you wouldn't guess from the rich urine gold colour, which is "beyond yellow" as Pierre Perrin observed. Nose is really immediately enticing with opulence and complexity....star anise, honeysuckle and ripe warm pineapple, fresh ripe apricot, very honeyed, toasted white bread, marshmallow, hazelnut and some whiff of gasoline. Palate is very deep rich buttery, burnt caramel, slightly oily mouthfeel, viscous, acacia honey then nettles and then freshening up on the back end into fresh-sliced bananas. Some length and a touch of resonance inside the head on the finale. This is a seriously heavyweight white wine and paired perfectly with the Hokkaido scallop and black truffle portobello mushroom rillette.
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8/8/2010 - sal wrote: 93 Points
This wine has broken out. Mature but silky textures of marmalade, apricot, and stone. Very nice acidity underneath. Flavors improved steadily over the 2-hour drinking window.
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9/13/2009 - dbkitc wrote: 92 Points
Very deep gold. Surprisingly mature. Very interesting and rich wine. (92)
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11/11/2007 - The Wine Bum wrote:
This was tired at the same time as the 2004 and though not in the same league was nevertheless delicious. Full of classic VV aromas and flavours - peach, apricot, mango, pineapple –just not as full, dense and complex as the best years. Still impressive and tasty…..
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9/22/2007 - cortoncharlie wrote: 90 Points
High glycern and very fat but I thought the wine had more life when I had it 6 months ago.
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5/5/2007 - trankin wrote: 90 Points
Hospice du Rhone; 5/3/2007-5/6/2007 (Paso Robles, CA): Rich, caramel nose, with a touch of funk. On the palate, this is rich andoaky, with vanilla and apple notes, and some nice minerality. Really nice wine.
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5/5/2007 - hutch wrote: 89 Points
HDR- Day 2 Seminars (Paso): Dark honey color. Big rich, honey and wax nose. Soft, but medium to full bodied. Slightly waxy on the palate. Very interesting, although not as expressive as I expected at this time. 89-90
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10/27/2006 - olig wrote: 92 Points
Massively impressive- destroyed several similarly priced Burg's at the dinner. Very delicate, floral, almost like fine honey. would highly recommend
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5/20/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
Beaucastel Offline (Snow on the Green - London): Very light, bright, some oak but light, nice fruit and a light but complex style, not overly interesting. ~88 pts
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12/18/2005 - Saunders wrote: 88 Points
Nice gold color, great floral notes on the nose wit htropical fruit and cotton candy. On the pallette this wine has a nice viscosity expected of white rhone considering the vintage,again the floral concentration of the old vines is coming through, rich nice vanilla notes with tropical fruit and hints of toffee. Maybe a touch heavy on the oak, but altogether a great white for the Christmas time of year, especially if your having roast game birds.
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8/12/2005 - Eric wrote:
43 bottles of Château Beaucastel with Bob Parker (Mark's Duck House, Falls Church, VA): This smelled different from all of the other wines, sharp and a bit oaky, actually quite expressive. I like it, but it was the least oily and concentrated of the wines, a little stemmy.
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6/29/2005 - Tad GW wrote: 87 Points
50+5+11+14+7=87
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6/10/2005 - Peter Hirdt wrote: 89 Points
It all there right now—tropical fruits, especially pineapple, on nose and palate, oily viscosity, and an excellent, long finish. Much more than I was expecting from an "off vintage" wine. It won't age, but it's quite good now.
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10/7/2004 - IanL wrote: 95 Points
Wine Icons tasting with Sarah Ahmed/Oddbins Fine Wine (Alba Restaurant, London): Clear, deep gold colour with a wide, sl watery rim. Clean, intense nose with floral, honeysuckle notes, marmalade, honey, lime and a creamy, toasty vanilla pod finish. Dry, intense and with a great length on the finish, lots of complexity - rhubarb, citrus, yellow plums. Not as harsh or as closed as expected, in fact very expressive. Others noted that the wine had been more expressive 6 months earlier and that it was perhaps entering into it's closed-down phase. Impressive, powerful but perfectly balanced wine. Not as powerful as other Roussanne VV have been - however given the washout vintage in which no red beaucastels were produced this is a fine effort. Fermentation in 50% new oak, 50% stainless steel. All vines in this cuvée are over 75 years old.
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