TN: 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

[Jeremy_Holmes]

• 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/6/2018)
  Smells of raspberries, moss, compost and meat. It has a low-acid feel with sweet fruit that has a chocolatey edge. It finishes with some wild herb action.

Posted from CellarTracker

[Mark_C_Johnson]

Did you like it? Would you order it in a restaurant? Sounds like you’re border-line?

[MChang]

This is one of my favorite wines. We poured it at our wedding.

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Hi Mark, it was a fairly tasty wine. I wouldn’t seek it out but happy to drink another glass if it came my way.

[Jason_T]

Jeremy, it was hard for me to read into whether you liked it as well. Though as always your note was wonderfully concise and compelling such that you had me hooked until I got to the bit about “low acid” and “chocolatey edge”. Sounds interesting though!

[Mark_C_Johnson]

Hi Mark, it was a fairly tasty wine. I wouldn’t seek it out but happy to drink another glass if it came my way.

OK, that makes sense.

[Gerhard_P]

Jeremy, it was hard for me to read into whether you liked it as well. Though as always your note was wonderfully concise and compelling such that you had me hooked until I got to the bit about “low acid” and “chocolatey edge”. Sounds interesting though!

Sorry, I don´t think a TN is “wonderful …” if one has to ask if the writer liked the wine, if it was good, fine, less good or whatever.
Me too was left until I read further downside …

BTW: it´s been a while since I tasted the 07 B. but it has always left me unmoved … good wine, but no better than a good drink, nothing special (even a bit boring) and for that too expensive indeed.

[Jozef.P]

Hi Mark, it was a fairly tasty wine. I wouldn’t seek it out but happy to drink another glass if it came my way.

Good to know, I remember my father buying a couple of cases of this and the Hommage, under the influence of RP. They have been way too powerful for me, curious to know if that is changing.

[David_Glasser]

Beaucastel has been one of my favorite CduP, one of my favorite wines, since the late 70s. It’s one of very few 2007 I haven’t sold off, and I’ve been following it in halves while waiting for it to mature before getting into the 750s. I had hopes, but my most recent bottle was not encouraging.

• 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/14/2018)
  Another half-bottle cellared since release, and 2 and 1/2 years since my last try. Perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Dark fruits, sweet cherries, meaty/savory notes on the nose. Ripe sweet fruit sliding into over-ripe and raisiny without carrying the meaty/savory components over from the nose. Decent balancing acidity and a medium long finish. This is disappointing as the last half-bottle was showing signs of starting to go in the right direction, trading the excessively sweet ripeness for more savory notes. This bottle is backsliding. Still very good as a cocktail wine but that’s not what I’ve been cellaring them for. I’ll wait another 3-5 years on the next one but my optimism has faded.

[Kelly_Walker]

Sounds like a typical '07. I am not a fan of the ripeness of the vintage in general. Low acid, sweet and chocolatey are not my cup of tea or latte.

[Fred_C]

Jeremy, it was hard for me to read into whether you liked it as well. Though as always your note was wonderfully concise and compelling such that you had me hooked until I got to the bit about “low acid” and “chocolatey edge”. Sounds interesting though!

I think you have to remember that Jeremy is a nice guy and might even know some of the producers or families making these wines.

His notes are usually spot on and a little reading between the lines may be required in some instances.

[Robert.A.Jr]

Beaucastel has been one of my favorite CduP, one of my favorite wines, since the late 70s. It’s one of very few 2007 I haven’t sold off, and I’ve been following it in halves while waiting for it to mature before getting into the 750s. I had hopes, but my most recent bottle was not encouraging.

• 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/14/2018)
  Another half-bottle cellared since release, and 2 and 1/2 years since my last try. Perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Dark fruits, sweet cherries, meaty/savory notes on the nose. Ripe sweet fruit sliding into over-ripe and raisiny without carrying the meaty/savory components over from the nose. Decent balancing acidity and a medium long finish. This is disappointing as the last half-bottle was showing signs of starting to go in the right direction, trading the excessively sweet ripeness for more savory notes. This bottle is backsliding. Still very good as a cocktail wine but that’s not what I’ve been cellaring them for. I’ll wait another 3-5 years on the next one but my optimism has faded.

Sorta my experience with the Vieux Telegraphe as well, ended up giving it all to my father.

[Chris_S_p_i_k_e_s]

Jeremy, it was hard for me to read into whether you liked it as well. Though as always your note was wonderfully concise and compelling such that you had me hooked until I got to the bit about “low acid” and “chocolatey edge”. Sounds interesting though!

Sorry, I don´t think a TN is “wonderful …” if one has to ask if the writer liked the wine, if it was good, fine, less good or whatever.
Me too was left until I read further downside …

BTW: it´s been a while since I tasted the 07 B. but it has always left me unmoved … good wine, but no better than a good drink, nothing special (even a bit boring) and for that too expensive indeed.

I’m on the other side of your opinion. I like it when a tasting note is accurate and quickly descriptive and doesn’t delve too much into the subjectivity of wine tasting. Each of us have our own preferences. Obviously, if the wine was absolutely terrible or superb to the taster, that would be important if they gave justifications for their opinion.

[Victor_Hong]

Beaucastel has been one of my favorite CduP, one of my favorite wines, since the late 70s. It’s one of very few 2007 I haven’t sold off, and I’ve been following it in halves while waiting for it to mature before getting into the 750s. I had hopes, but my most recent bottle was not encouraging.

• 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/14/2018)
  Another half-bottle cellared since release, and 2 and 1/2 years since my last try. Perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Dark fruits, sweet cherries, meaty/savory notes on the nose. Ripe sweet fruit sliding into over-ripe and raisiny without carrying the meaty/savory components over from the nose. Decent balancing acidity and a medium long finish. This is disappointing as the last half-bottle was showing signs of starting to go in the right direction, trading the excessively sweet ripeness for more savory notes. This bottle is backsliding. Still very good as a cocktail wine but that’s not what I’ve been cellaring them for. I’ll wait another 3-5 years on the next one but my optimism has faded.

Sorta my experience with the Vieux Telegraphe as well, ended up giving it all to my father.

Despicable.

[Ramon_C]

Have 2 of these that I never tried, but bought since release. Those “low acid”, “chocolatey”, “excessively sweet”, “over-ripe”, and “cocktail wine” notes are not making me enthusiastic about pulling 1 from the offsite storage. Fwiw, thanks for the notes.

[David_Glasser]

Beaucastel has been one of my favorite CduP, one of my favorite wines, since the late 70s. It’s one of very few 2007 I haven’t sold off, and I’ve been following it in halves while waiting for it to mature before getting into the 750s. I had hopes, but my most recent bottle was not encouraging.

• 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/14/2018)
  Another half-bottle cellared since release, and 2 and 1/2 years since my last try. Perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Dark fruits, sweet cherries, meaty/savory notes on the nose. Ripe sweet fruit sliding into over-ripe and raisiny without carrying the meaty/savory components over from the nose. Decent balancing acidity and a medium long finish. This is disappointing as the last half-bottle was showing signs of starting to go in the right direction, trading the excessively sweet ripeness for more savory notes. This bottle is backsliding. Still very good as a cocktail wine but that’s not what I’ve been cellaring them for. I’ll wait another 3-5 years on the next one but my optimism has faded.

Sorta my experience with the Vieux Telegraphe as well, ended up giving it all to my father.

Haven’t opened a 2007 VT since release. That and Charvin are the only other 07 CduP still in the cellar. If they don’t show any better in a few years I’ll just have to hold them until my palate is old and numb enough to crave that high octane stuff.

[Robert.A.Jr]

Hopefully I’ll be dead then.

Here lies Alfert
May green grass grow
And horses come to pasture
He liked his wine
Like his country farm
Just a bit stinky

[Paul_Jaouen]

Sounds like a typical '07. I am not a fan of the ripeness of the vintage in general. Low acid, sweet and chocolatey are not my cup of tea or latte.

Yep and I love Beaucastel generally.

[MChang]

We had a bottle last year which was great. Had s fascinating plum note I haven’t seen in other vintages.

[Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r]

I don’t have a ton of 07’s, but for the traditionally strong producers that I like (beau, VT, etc) my strategy is just to wait it out and hope for the best. If they are still meh in 5+ more years, I will pour them at an office event.