The 2001 vintage in Chateauneuf remains the benchmark for quality to me in this once-heralded region. Rather than jammy ripe fruits, this is more about dried fruits, garrigue and earth. Enjoying this one out of a 375, open for about an hour. Fairly aromatic wine, really opened up with some time. Palate is excellent, lithe and lean, great acid. Broad range on the fruit spectrum from reds to dried plums. Dry earth, leather, game meat. Love the sweet and spicy finish. Really a perfect Chateauneuf du Pape.
This TN made me open one last night and your description is very accurate. Savory more than fruity. I particularly like the chalky tannins. Have a few more including a mag. No hurry.
I’ve had numbers of bottles of 01 Beaucastel over the years from my case and that of a friend and I’ve always been underwhelmed. It was a perfectly nice wine, but never anything to write home about, certainly not up to what others produced in this vintage. I opened one last night, inspired by this thread, and it had clearly come into its own. I remember tastings at Beaucastel, before they ended them, where they would routinely serve 10 year old and 20 year old wines to show how they aged and they really became fabulous at age 20. This is one wine that, for me, needed those 20 years. I’m glad a have a few bottles left.
Charvin 00 has always been surprisingly austere for a year that produced softer wines. It’s still a great wine. But the 01 has always been wonderful. I’m sorry I only have one bottle left.
I had the 2000 and the 2001 Beaucastel last year, and while I liked the 2001, I liked the 2000 a little more. That’s actually true of a number of CNdP where I owned both: I preferred both the 2000 Pegau and Clos des Papes to their respective 2001 versions, for instance. For the Beaucastel, I favored the 2000 in part because the 2000 tasted fully mature, while the 2001 seemed like it still had more development to undergo.
