Tasted at two hours after decanting. While decanting, I noticed no barnyard aromas, but the nose was closed.

The wine had a beautiful nose of weathered wood, baked rhubarb, ripe berries, and a hint of cinnamon. On the palate, the wine was beautifully textured with velvety flavors of bright cherries and spice. Almost ready. 97

One of the things that amazes me most about Beaucastel is the brilliance of the fruit in bottles 15-25 years old. Another would be the winery's consistency. Beaucastel has very few off-years. It's sort of the La Mission of the Rhone.

Just one more sip.

Board-O,

How much sediment did it throw? The last bottle I opened on Christmas 2002 had a good 1/2 inch of sludge.

I was going to wait post 2008 to try again.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

Not a lot. Certainly nowhere near a half inch.

Just one more sip.

Thanks! I thought the bottle I had opened was an exception.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

I have a '96, only one bottle. I take from this thread I should wait a few years? Or was '96 an off-year and should be consumed now?

This was my 3rd time to enjoy this wine, and I "think" the best may yet to come.

The fruit on this 17 year old wine will impress. Rich dark fruit and berry, with wonderful spice, truffle, leather and a little earthy yet a sweetness/freshness at the same time.

This is a special wine to my palate and look forward to trying again next year.

You should really give wines from Beaucastel time imo. They will reward!

Good to hear. I have 5 in the cellar.

Had this with 30 mins. of decanting the other night. My 3rd experience with this wine. Still amazing. Great fruit purity. A bit of Brett initially, but blew off after the decanting. This is as good as CDP gets. 96 pts.

My first time with this wine and one I had very high expectations for based on numerous comments and notes in this forum. Basically a pop and pour. Ruby red and slightly translucent with plum, black fruits and spice on the nose. Medium-full bodied, beautiful silky mouthfeel with tobacco and pure cherry and plum flavours. Little or no secondary aromas, which surprised me for a 20 year old wine, this wine is still a puppy. An excellent wine, but I was hoping for a little more. Maybe not the best bottle? 94 points.

I love coming accross old threads like this...

It wasn't but a month and a half ago here (which was then heavily edited by the moderator)....

http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6826053161/m/192105405/p/1

...that Board-O was arguing with me that opening the '89 Beaucastel now is a joke because it's "not ready". And, anyone who thinks they can enjoy it now, before it's full potential, is wasting their time. Too funny...

You're "fabricating" again.

• 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/11/2008)
  Ruby Red in color with a translucent bricking at the edges. Meat, leather, mushrooms and tobacco on the Nose. Very young banquet on the palate, of dark fruit and berries, though incredibly rich and balanced. Vibrant in nature with a plush, silky mouth feel and long finish. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

KSCO2: Looks like you and steve8 had a good time. Both wines sound fantastic. Do you wish you had waited on the Beaucastel? Do you recommend waiting? How was it with the lamb?Based on steve8's note and Board-O's comments, it sounds like it is still so young.

One last question: how do you post notes from CellarTracker to an existing thread? I have tried, but I can't seem to do it without starting a new thread. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Keeno:
One last question: how do you post notes from CellarTracker to an existing thread? I have tried, but I can't seem to do it without starting a new thread. Thanks!

The only way is by publishing to the UBB markup, then copying and pasting it manually.

quote:

Originally posted by sprnplr:

quote:

Originally posted by Keeno:
One last question: how do you post notes from CellarTracker to an existing thread? I have tried, but I can't seem to do it without starting a new thread. Thanks!

The only way is by publishing to the UBB markup, then copying and pasting it manually.

Keeno-

It was my girlfriend's b'day dinner. We DID have a great time. Steve thought it was still a baby. I disagree only in the manner that, while still very young, it definately is in its' drinking window IMO. Early window buy definately not a case of infantacide by any means. It's mature while still giving a lot of fruit and that 'vibrancy' a younger wine can give. It was excellent and I WILL enjoy it a few more times over the years.

BTW: The Lamb was wonderful and a perfect match to the Beaucastel.

To publish from CT, to an already existing thread, I prepare to publish, just like starting a new thread, but instead on selecting the button, I COPY the then existing format note, and PASTE to the 'reply' box here. In other words, what sprnplr said.

Thank you KSC02 and sprnpl for the posting tips.

KSC02: Thank you very much for the info on the the Beaucastel. I appreciate your patience with me continually asking you questions about it. I am surprised you haven't said "leave me alone and just buy one d@mn it!"

I will let you know if I bite the bullet and pick one up.

Thanks again!

My pleasure, Keeno. You don't ask stupid questions. They're curious and thought out. Those are welcome any time. Keep your eye on pricings at auctions. I'd expect these to move up in price a bit as the drinking window is indeed open. You can still find good pricing though, around the 200 mark now. Worth the price, IMO, but not more, if you're diligent.

• 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/10/2008)
  Oh, boy. I think I am going to get flamed for this one. The nose of this wine was truly wonderful. Dark sophisticated nose of fresh tobacco, cloves, orange pekoe tea and some raspberries. The palate though, had that orange pekoe tea thing going on, with lots of glycerin which I felt was either closed or not very expressive. Last time I had orange pekoe tea notes on a wine was the 1934 Margaux and the 1971 Cos. The cork was 3/4 saturated but I guess that is normal? I didn't like the palate as much so 92 points overall for me. I think this has another 5 years before it will start to fall apart.(preparing to duck) (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker