This was an amazing, amazing tasting. First, no corked bottles! Second, Corks from '94 on were all pristine. The corks on the '89 and '90 broke in half, but I was able to get them out without crumbling, coring, etc. The bottles were all well sealed by their corks. The '79, '82 and '85 corks were a bit crumbly, but the wines were excellent.
In addition to what I posted before about wines that we were going to open, we had a few additions to the list. The additions were the 2012 and 2013 Beaucastel Blanc Vieilles Vignes, the 2013 Blanc and Rouge and the 2011 and 2013 Hommage!!
We started with some radishes with salt, some shrimp with garlic aioli then had some butternut squash soup, arugula salad and beef bourguignon (made with 2 bottles of 2011 Domaine Giraud Cotes du Rhone Villages Clos des Sixte VV and a half a bottle of Delord 25 ans Armagnac). Next we had a cheese course with three cheeses. One goat, one cow and one sheep (I don’t remember the names, shame on me!) Dessert was two types of eclairs stuffed with vanilla cream and chocolate cheesecake.
My notes will be brief as we had 21 bottles for 8 people!
We didn’t bother to start with Champagne as we had so many bottles to work through. Some of the wines were served in flights of 4, but sometimes 2 or 3 as we were trying match up vintages either by age or structure. All the wines were stood up 4 weeks ago in my cellar. They were brought upstairs one hour before the event started. All bottles from the 2007 vintage and earlier were opened and quickly decanted into a Zalto 75 carafe, the bottle rinsed twice to get rid of sediment and then poured back into the original bottle. I used a Chateauneuf du Pape funnel with a screen to catch any large bits.
We started with the 2012 Beaucastel Blanc VV- I loved the creamy low acid texture to this wine as well as the tropical fruits. You really can notice the malolactic fermentation that this wine goes through. Long finish. 93 pts.
Then we decided to jump to the reds saving the other whites for the cheese course. First up we did a flight of the 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. I did these first since based on reviewer and CellarTracker notes these were likely the weakest wines in the line up. While they didn’t hit heights of the later wines, there were no dogs in the bunch.
1994 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge- Quite light in color, very aromatic with aromas of red fruits and garrigue. Rather Burgundian. A bit of noticeable brett in this one, but not off putting. Fully mature and ready to go. 91 pts.
1995 Beaucastel CdP Rouge- This one is darker and more structured than the '94. Some brett here as well, but it hides behind the tannins. Will hold for several more years. 91 pts.
1996 Beaucastel CdP Rouge- This one is also light in color, very aromatic and Burgundian. The Grenache here seems more pronounced vs the previous bottles. If you like elegance and refinement, this is it. Fully mature and time to drink! 92 pts.
1997 Beaucastel Rouge- This was a wet and cool vintage. This wine was tasty and aromatic, but not at the same level as the other three. Drink now!
88 pts.
The next flight was the 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. We chose to go for younger and more power saving the oldies for almost last. As expected, this was a very strong flight.
1998 Beaucastel Rouge- This wine is beautiful, balanced and ready to go. Long finish and very popular at the table. 95 pts.
1999 Beaucastel Rouge- This wine, I think, really reflected the vintage as it seemed very different than the other three. Nice aromatics. The flavors here were more savory with a bunch of soy sauce. This lacked the red fruit Grenache aspect present in the 1998, 2000 and 2001 and the finish was not as long. Still very good, but in a different way than the others. 93 pts.
2000 Beaucastel Rouge- Absolutely gorgeous! Layered and complex with plenty of red fruits and garrigue. Tannins are resolved so this is ready to go. 96 pts.
2001 Beaucastel Rouge- Another stunner, but tighter, more structured and tannic than the 2000. Big, rich, complex and long. In my mind, this can cellar longer or needs a couple hour decant before consumption. 96 pts.
No one was in a rush to leave this flight, but we had to press on. Up next, we went even younger with the 2006 and 2007.
2006 Beaucastel Rouge- This wine was lovely. Quite open and expressive. Plenty of red fruits and garrigue here as well. 95 pts.
2007 Beaucastel Rouge- This is a monster. Very big and too young in my book, but enormous potential. I think this wine will continue to improve for several more years before reaching its plateau. 95 pts.
After these two, we decided to go back in time so we had the 1979, 1982 and 1985.
1979 Beaucastel Rouge- Still alive! Some brett. Tastes and smells like old wine. Pale reddish orange in color. Still quite nice! 92 pts.
1982 Beaucastel Rouge- Delicious! Some brett also. Plenty of tannins. Lovely mature red fruits. 93 pts.
1985 Beaucastel Rouge- More acidic with a little bit of sourdough, but very good. 93 pts.
The next flight we decided to pit the exalted 1989 and 1990 against one another.
1989 Beaucastel Rouge- WOTN! Absolutely gorgeous. Incredible aromatics of red fruits and garrigue. Such a complete, balanced, layered and complex wine. This was one to just keep contemplating as it was so beautiful. Very long finish. 99 pts.
1990 Beaucastel Rouge- This was also big, layered and complex, but I think it was a bit off as it had the most brett of any wine in this tasting. It had the big sweaty saddle, leathery thing going on. It didn’t kill the wine, but it detracted from its score. Even with the brett it merited- 95 pts.
Ok, now we are 16 bottles in and someone says, “hey, can we open the other reds?” I said, “we have 2 more bottles of white, do you want to go with them and then move to the reds?” Of course, the answer was yes!
Notes at this point become rather cryptic, so I apologize.
2013 Beaucastel Blanc- Smells great. Kind of soft. The Marsanne seems to add a bit of waxiness to the wine to accompany the mellow fruit flavors. 91 pts.
2013 Beaucastel Blanc VV- Smells even better than the Blanc before it. Super rich, luscious and long. Creamy and tangy. Love it! 94 pts.
Now it was time to drink the recent release reds. I can say that this was infanticide because these wines are nowhere near ready and do show excellent potential.
2011 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin- Mostly Mourvedre and you can certainly notice it from the dark color and how tight this is. Big wine, but years from maturity. Fun to taste, but at this point I couldn’t score these just because they are so young and such a contrast from the wines we had earlier in the night.
2013 Beaucastel Rouge- Lovely, but young.
2013 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin- Super young, still enjoyable. I am sure it will be awesome in time. I have some of this left that I will try in the next day or so to see how oxygen exposure effects it.
To me, what was amazing about this tasting was the consistency of the house style and the extremely high quality throughout. I was also impressed with how modest the brett contribution was to the wines with the only exception being the 1990. I bought the 1989 and 1990 from Sam’s in Chicago in 1993 and have cellared them since. I paid $22 for the 1990! The 1994-2001 plus 2006-7 were bought by me on release and cellared since. The 1979, 1982, and 1985 were brought by a friend from his cellar. The other more recent wines were brought by other guests.