MChang
February 28, 2020, 10:45am
21
I think beaucastel does age well, but I think the 3 recent vintages have been fantastic on release. No harm in drinking now, at all.
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.
I’d seen people on this board suggest that the '17 Coudoulet isn’t particularly strong, but a bottle last night was very good. Seemed to be showing all Mourvedre for the most part - a good thing in my book - though you could sense the Grenache a bit more after a few hours. Hard to tell where it would go; could become softer and more anonymous, but showing well right now.
I like a dozen years on my Beaucastel Reds. The '99 (not such a heralded year) is still drinking really well and has for many year.