A ridiculously delicious, young Beaucastel. I honestly cannot recall loving a young vintage of Beaucastel this much. I had some on release, now checking in again with a 375 bottling.
The nose is still a bit reticent, but it’s the palate that just floors me on this wine. It’s like a wine that captured that perfect moment of time in ripeness, where the fruits are ripe, sweet and delineated, but the acids remain high to keep the sensation quite lifted. The purity of fruit on this wine is exceptional. Like, flawless. Cherries, raspberries, kirsch liquor. Powerful dark fruit notes as well.
What this wine is not currently showing, and who knows when or if it does, is that historic Beaucastel funk, feral note that I assume comes from the healthy cut of Mourvèdre and a kiss of brett that this estate is known to have. Beaucastel generally has around 30% in the blend, which I think is higher than the majority of CDP houses. And Beaucastel, at least some of the vintages that I have adored like 2001, shows some brett. Sometimes, a lot of brett. I do not know what the cepage is in this vintage. Is this a new, modern Beaucastel, or just a by-product of the sensational 2016 vintage? And when I say modern here, it is not a pejorative.
The finish is like a Domaine Tempier, definitely that chewy, meaty, tannic bite that you get from Mourvèdre. The tannins in this vintage, however, are sweet, chalky and lip-smackingly good.
Just an overall excellent wine. Wish I had a case to follow over the next 20 years. And yes, this baby will age beautifully. The structure and fruit balance on this wine is built for that.
Great note. Wish I got some on release. It’s crazy expensive now. The 2016 Coudelet is already so good, I’m not surprised that the big brother is even better. The 2015 and 2017 are no slouches either.
Thanks for the note. I bought a six-pack cheap at a local going out of business sale on a whim, and with much nostalgia from enjoying this in the 90s. Tried it back then and I got mostly just the chewy, meaty, tannic bite and was like cool…old-school Beaucastel, come back in 10-15 years. Your note sounds more like 1990 which was my all-time favorite and had a very wide window of enjoyment.
Yes, they cleaned up somewhere after 1997. I still found the feral quality in the 99, but not after. I had another bottle from my stash of 2001 and was, as always, underimpressed. It was a very nice wine and showed how Beaucastel can age. But it did not have the Beaucastel distinctiveness I look for. I have had very nice bottles of Beau made in this century, but none measure up to the 81, 83, 85, 89 and 90. The 94 was a very good wine and is still underpriced in the auction market, though, since I haven’t had one in some time (I couldn’t keep my hands of them), I don’t know how it’s doing now. I had a 97 a couple of years ago that was just singing (and shows what a supposedly off vintage can do). I still mourn the passing of those Beaus. It still does have, as Robert noted, 30% Mourvedre and so still can be distinctive, but not in the same way.
I enjoyed the '94 as well, Jonathan, although I last had it more than a decade ago. In looking through my TNs, I see my experience with the Beaucastel rouge is relatively limited (I’ve probably only ever had it 8 to 10 times). The youngest I’ve ever enjoyed it was 12 yo (the '98, which I understand not everyone likes – I’ve had both a good and bad experience with it). Younger bottles have always been difficult and almost always affirmatively unpleasant in some way, which makes Robert’s note, here, that much more intriguing.
I had the '94 earlier this year and it was pretty good but nothing to write home about. I had the '83 a month or so ago and it really wowed me and made me realize I need to add more Beaucastal and CdP to my collection.
Not a Southern Rhone but close enough: Try the Languedoc wines made by Domaine Leon Barral. They can be outstanding at times, and they really are very feral wines. My favorite is the Valiniere Cuvee, which can have up to 80% Mourvèdre.
Pegau tends to be “meaty”. Charvin is elegant, a personal fave as well.
Since before you were in diapers! And back when I was still kicking your butt on the bike. These wines stepped out of favor to me during the Parker era, but I was still buying the traditional estates, just not as much as before. We have also had a lot of ripe vintages that even affected the traditional estates, think 2018, 2015, 2009, 2007, 2003. I avoid those years for the most part.
In CdP, the obvious name would be Pegau. If you can find it in the U.S., you might also try Feraud et Fils, which was Eddie Feraud prior to something like 2015. Sometimes Vieux Telegraphe. I love Charvin, but it is not really a feral wine. Few estates that produce only from vineyards in the north of the appelation are. You might also look for Cayron in Gigondas and Domaine de la Garrigue in Vacqueyras.
I’ll third the Pegau recommendation. I shared the 2010 with a buddy a few years ago–he’s very much into “sweet” Napa cabs–and he still talks about how barnyardy the wine was.
+1 to what others have said. I don’t think a single Beaucastel 1998 and onward will quite hit the levels of Beaucastel funk that prior decades showed. They really cleaned up. What I recall from my 2014 visit was an immaculately clean facility and IIRC a flash pasturization process that ensure zero Brett in the bottles.
I do agree, however that certain post-1998 vintages can have very pleasant secondary notes, dirven at least somewhat by the meaty/animal character of Mourvedre. Sounds like this 2016 is showing early signs of that. I recall the 2008 having this character as well during my 2014 visit.