For those who like classic beaucastel with a heavy dose of Mourvèdre I would stock up on this!
Cool, thanks. I liked the 2016 very much. Incidentally, I preferred the 2016 Coudoulet over the 2017.
Thank you for the note. FYI, while I couldn’t get the $100 off $300 to work on the 750’s even though they end in .99, it does work on the 375’s at 41.99 on Wine.com. $32 per 375 including tax and shipping is a good/great price.
For those not on the wine.com train…Wine Library has the ‘17 Beaucastel CdP for $69.99 with free shipping on purchases of 3 bottles+
I love the 16 as well; the 17 is a worthy successor and a little different. It’s a bit less powerful but a bit more tannic and chewy, probably more classic and less ripe but still very robust. Both are fantastic wines. 15-17 are all great! I think 15 is ripe, well-balanced, and has good length, whereas 16 is the most hedonistic and powerful, while 17 is the most wild, classic, and restrained, although still generous. I know some people thought 14 was a classic beaucastel but I found it a little thin.
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That’s a great, and helpful, summary. Definitely grabbing some 17.
Just a question from an ignorant: If one assumes that the Donald’s duties are not here to stay… why buy now wine that bears 25% duty when one can wait for a couple of years to buy it duty free? After all, Beaucastel is very big production not like Roumier Musigny…
The 25% tax is on ABV < 14% so most Rhône wines should not be affected.
It’s the same price as it’s been. My guess is it’s over 13.5% abv.
Mostly just that thin, weak, overpriced, gargle juice from the middle of the country is taking the hit 
One CellarTracker review says 14.5
Uh-oh. Those all sound like advantages to me.
Must… resist…
Yeah, the first half bottle I drank without much air and it was good but not amazing but the second I gave a lot of air in a 1855 and it was phenomenal.
Nah. Pull the trigger. The cool thing for us old guys is, classic CDP tastes great young as well! IMHO. I actually tend to prefer my CDP on the younger side. A funny comparison to my appreciation of Bordeaux.
I went out and picked up 4. I’m going to crack one soon to check it out.
Make sure to give it enough air.
What do you guys think about it’s age potential? Son is a 2017 baby, so always on the lookout.
Nice discussion. I also thought 2014 left much to be desired.
Along with Robert, I sort of prefer CdP young. It seems to plays to the strengths of grenache after just a little time for the alcohol to settle down. Not that there aren’t great old examples, I’ve just had more young wines overperform than old ones. No 1981s though. 
I think this is a good strategy for most CdP but not necessarily for Beaucastel. It almost always repays aging. That’s not to say you shouldn’t ever drink them young. Vintages like 1989 and 2001 were great at release, but aged wines like 1981, 1989, 1990 are amazing. Less famous vintages like 1988 and 1994 can age really well too.
I had a 1998 Fortia last night and while it has aged perfectly gracefully, it never developed into a great wine and is just gradually fading. This is often true of CdP. I feel that most of them are never better than at release, but Beaucastel and a couple hands full of others can really pay off.
Do you still have a couple hands? After that Mosel tractor incident I thought you were down to 7 fingers. Sir this kind of mid-representation will not stand!