We belatedly celebrated Ken’s birthday last night, and so I pulled this bottle from the cellar (partially inspired by Bill S.'s notes on the Beaucastel vertical). I decanted it before dinner, and there appears to have been some very minor leakage from the cork under the capsule. Ultimately, I don’t think it was noticeable.
A significant amount of bricking in the color, as you would expect from the age. It took about 15 minutes in the glass to get going, with a medium aromatic nose of earth, leather, pepper, blackberry, and a bit of herbs/garrigue. The taste follows the nose, with a lot of plummy (but not pruny) fruit. There’s still a medium amount of fine tannins, but they are fairly smooth. Overall, a really good (but not great) Beaucastel that is essentially at maturity. I don’t think it will fall off the cliff soon, but I don’t see it getting significantly better with more age. Right around the “wow” line and drained by the end of dinner.
Bruce
P.S. I kept on the original price tag of $17.99 for the sake of nostalgia.