1980 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Community Tasting Notes (6) Median Score: 94 points

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  7/1/2023 - Wine Canuck wrote: 97 Points

  An Epic Summer Wine Weekend - Year 2; 6/30/2023-7/2/2023 (Muskoka, Ontario, Canada): [Tasted Single Blind] From a pristine bottle. This pours light ruby in the glass. The nose on this is wildly complex of nori, dried ginger, grilled pork, sea spray, animal fur, dried orange peel, forest floor, dried light cherry, and light briney notes. The palate is just as good as the nose. It enters on bright red fruit with medium plus, bright orange tinged acid. The finish is just amazing unfurling with layers of grilled pork, orange peel, and dried ginger. Those tasting double blind tossed guesses of old Burgundy given the sheer elegance with alcohol coming across as low. Even Chave was mentioned for the briney notes. Regardless, this was just killer and a case in point why I love old CdP from the great producers. Amazing bottle, exceeding expectations, and easily made up for the poor 1981 showing which is usually regarded as the better vintage.

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  9/17/2021 - William Kelley Likes this wine:

  I was immensely impressed by the 1980 Beaucastel, and by the extent to which it nips at this heels of the justly revered 1981. Offering up aromas of sweet berry fruit and plums mingled with loamy soil, truffle, tobacco and medicine cabinet, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with terrific mid-palate amplitude, lively acids and melting tannins. It's a sensual, precise Beaucastel that exemplifies why this was a benchmark estate in this era.

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  6/3/2018 - acyso wrote: 90 Points

  Vinetasters: Beaucastel (1979-2006) (Skokie, IL): Served double-blind in a Beaucastel lineup. A slight bit of barnyard and campfire on the nose here, but there's so much to love, with the intense spice and ripe fruit. There's a moderate hint of plum here as well. The palate has some very nice sweetness and richness, with a nice hint of iron on the finish. Definitely one that is showing its age. Not too weird and funky; but I definitely liked the nose far more than the palate here. (My 4th, group's 1st.)

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  7/10/2015 - acyso wrote: 95 Points

  [Redacted]; 7/10/2015-7/11/2015: Without a doubt one of the better Southern Rhones I've tasted. At this point, I just have to stop saying I don't like Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This had the perfect balance of red and black fruit, and animal funk, carrying through to the palate, with had ample acidity to carry the hint of sweetness, fully-resolved tannins, and a little bit of barnyard. Now, if all CdP were like this, there'd be a lot more of it in my cellar!

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  9/20/2012 - Doc Martin wrote: 94 Points

  On the nose this was immediately impressive, but the wine is lively and fresh after allowing it to open up. One of the nicest older Chat Pape wines we have had in a long time.

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