Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape Vertical 12-Pack [Three Bottles Each of '98, '99, '08, '09]
(Southern Rhone, France)
Regular price $2,000.00 Sale price $1,499.97 Save $500.03
About This Wine:
A big, rich wine with huge amounts of fruit oozing out of the glass. Great concentration and intensity, with licorice flavors from the Mourvèdre, finishing with chewy tannins. A great year for this wine, which should age well for 15 to 20 years." - W.E. (12/31/2001)
95 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Very youthful, with a juicy blast of red plum and fig fruit flavors on a racy frame, this also has plenty of spice, tar, plum cake and mineral in reserve, as the finish shows more structure and slowly darkens with time in the glass. Only just starting to hit its stride.--1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape retrospective. Drink now through 2027. 15,000 cases made." – JM (Sep 30, 2007)
93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The atypically Grenache-dominated 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape is fully mature and gives up tons of kirsch, garrigue, licorice and a touch of gaminess in its full-bodied, layered and ripe personality. More rounded and sexy than most vintages, it has no hard edges, plenty of mid-palate depth and a great finish. I see no reason to delay gratification, but it will certainly hold for 5-10 years." - Jeb Dunnuck (Aug 2015)
93 Points - Stephen Tanzer:
"Saturated ruby-red. Superripe but reticent, grenache-dominated aromas of roasted plum, cherry jam, tar and humus. Fat, lush and stuffed with fruit; almost heavy today compared to the '99. But this is utterly silky and its firm underlying structure is buried by fruit and baby fat. Intriguing meat and licorice notes. A wine of superb finesse and superfine tannins." (January 2001)
92+ Points - Stephen Tanzer:
"Full ruby. Highly complex nose combines black fruits, gibier, truffle, road tar, licorice and leather. Very intense and spicy, but still tightly wound, with a firm acid spine keeping the flavors under wraps. "Very interior wine today," notes Perrin. But one already senses the incipient complexity. Finishes with building tannins, a note of caramel and terrific persistence. This will need time." (January 2002)
91 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The prodigious 1999 Beaucastel boasts aromas of blackberry fruit intermixed with cassis, licorice, roasted meats, leather, and truffles. While it does not possess much fat or precociousness, it displays definition and elegance. This is a full-bodied, concentrated, classic Beaucastel. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Dec 2001)
90 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Like some '99s, it's a bit leaner than the '00s or '98s, but it's well-made, with youthful exuberance of ripe fruit, toasted oak, grilled meat, smoked chestnuts and blood orange, ironlike notes. Best from 2005 through 2010. 16,665 cases made." – PM (Aug 31, 2002)
93 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Ripe and very sleek, with a dense core of cassis, blackberry and anise framed by violet and spice. The long finish drips with juicy fruit and subtle toast, with a flash of iron boding well for cellaring. Shows great freshness and balance for the vintage. Drink now through 2024. 9,166 cases made." – JM (Jun 30, 2011)
91 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:
"Vivid ruby. Enticing aromas of raspberry, dried flowers and spice cake. Sweet and penetrating, offering sappy flavors of red and dark berries, candied flowers and chewing tobacco. Combines depth and juiciness smoothly, finishing with gentle grip and persistent florality." – Josh Raynolds (Mar/Apr 2011)
90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2008 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the few outstanding wines produced in this vintage. More evolved than Beaucastel’s wines tend to be, it reveals a healthy dark plum/ruby color, notes of licorice, meat juices, smoked game, black currants and garrigue, medium to full body, silky tannins, good freshness, surprising depth for the vintage and a long finish. Drink it over the next decade." – Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Oct 2010)
Château de Beaucastel has long been regarded as one of the greatest wines in France. It is notorious for its elegance, balance and ageing potential. Chateau de Beaucastel's Chateauneuf-du-Pape has previously been ranked as the #1 wine on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year, and made the top 10 several times. Beaucastel has an exceptional terroir at the Northern limit of Châteauneuf du Pape, exposed to the Mistral wind. All thirteen varieties of the appellation have been organically grown since the sixties.
Winemaking:
Each variety is harvested separately and manually. Vinification takes place in oak fermenters for the reductive varieties (Mourvedre, Syrah) and in traditional enameled concrete tanks for the oxydative grapes (all the others). Once the malolactic fermentation is finished, the Famille Perrin blends the different varieties. The blend is then aged in oak foudres for a year before being bottled.
What this Vertical Includes:
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1998 - [WE 96] [WS 95] [RP 93] [ST 93]
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1999 - [ST 92+] [RP 91] [WS 90]-
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2008 - [WS 93] [ST 91] [RP 90]
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2009 - [WS 96] [RP 94] [ST 93]
What this Vertical Includes:
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1998 - [WE 96] [WS 95] [RP 93] [ST 93]
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1999 - [ST 92+] [RP 91] [WS 90]-
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2008 - [WS 93] [ST 91] [RP 90]
3x Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2009 - [WS 96] [RP 94] [ST 93]
1998 Ratings
96 Points - Wine Enthusiast:A big, rich wine with huge amounts of fruit oozing out of the glass. Great concentration and intensity, with licorice flavors from the Mourvèdre, finishing with chewy tannins. A great year for this wine, which should age well for 15 to 20 years." - W.E. (12/31/2001)
95 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Very youthful, with a juicy blast of red plum and fig fruit flavors on a racy frame, this also has plenty of spice, tar, plum cake and mineral in reserve, as the finish shows more structure and slowly darkens with time in the glass. Only just starting to hit its stride.--1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape retrospective. Drink now through 2027. 15,000 cases made." – JM (Sep 30, 2007)
93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The atypically Grenache-dominated 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape is fully mature and gives up tons of kirsch, garrigue, licorice and a touch of gaminess in its full-bodied, layered and ripe personality. More rounded and sexy than most vintages, it has no hard edges, plenty of mid-palate depth and a great finish. I see no reason to delay gratification, but it will certainly hold for 5-10 years." - Jeb Dunnuck (Aug 2015)
93 Points - Stephen Tanzer:
"Saturated ruby-red. Superripe but reticent, grenache-dominated aromas of roasted plum, cherry jam, tar and humus. Fat, lush and stuffed with fruit; almost heavy today compared to the '99. But this is utterly silky and its firm underlying structure is buried by fruit and baby fat. Intriguing meat and licorice notes. A wine of superb finesse and superfine tannins." (January 2001)
1999 Ratings
92+ Points - Stephen Tanzer:"Full ruby. Highly complex nose combines black fruits, gibier, truffle, road tar, licorice and leather. Very intense and spicy, but still tightly wound, with a firm acid spine keeping the flavors under wraps. "Very interior wine today," notes Perrin. But one already senses the incipient complexity. Finishes with building tannins, a note of caramel and terrific persistence. This will need time." (January 2002)
91 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The prodigious 1999 Beaucastel boasts aromas of blackberry fruit intermixed with cassis, licorice, roasted meats, leather, and truffles. While it does not possess much fat or precociousness, it displays definition and elegance. This is a full-bodied, concentrated, classic Beaucastel. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Dec 2001)
90 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Like some '99s, it's a bit leaner than the '00s or '98s, but it's well-made, with youthful exuberance of ripe fruit, toasted oak, grilled meat, smoked chestnuts and blood orange, ironlike notes. Best from 2005 through 2010. 16,665 cases made." – PM (Aug 31, 2002)
2008 Ratings
93 Points - Wine Spectator:"Ripe and very sleek, with a dense core of cassis, blackberry and anise framed by violet and spice. The long finish drips with juicy fruit and subtle toast, with a flash of iron boding well for cellaring. Shows great freshness and balance for the vintage. Drink now through 2024. 9,166 cases made." – JM (Jun 30, 2011)
91 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:
"Vivid ruby. Enticing aromas of raspberry, dried flowers and spice cake. Sweet and penetrating, offering sappy flavors of red and dark berries, candied flowers and chewing tobacco. Combines depth and juiciness smoothly, finishing with gentle grip and persistent florality." – Josh Raynolds (Mar/Apr 2011)
90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2008 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the few outstanding wines produced in this vintage. More evolved than Beaucastel’s wines tend to be, it reveals a healthy dark plum/ruby color, notes of licorice, meat juices, smoked game, black currants and garrigue, medium to full body, silky tannins, good freshness, surprising depth for the vintage and a long finish. Drink it over the next decade." – Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Oct 2010)
2009 Ratings
96 Points & "Collectibles" - Wine Spectator:
"One of the more endowed 2009s, this is packed with dark smoldering cocoa, mesquite, tobacco and roasted fig notes, all inlaid with pure cassis and plum preserves fruit flavors. Long and authoritative on the finish, with singed vanilla bean and tar notes adding length and dimension. Best from 2015 through 2026. 4,000 cases imported." – JM (Feb 29, 2012)
94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is reminiscent of their brilliant 1985. It will be one of the rare Beaucastels that is drinkable upon release. Made from this estate’s classic blend, it possesses soft tannins as well as a silky, open-knit seductiveness, a dense plum/purple color and a beautiful perfume of smoky Provencal herbs intermixed with grilled steak juices, garrigue, kirsch and blue as well as black fruits. The wine is full-bodied, unctuously textured, and silky smooth (the latter characteristic being somewhat atypical for a young Beaucastel). If it performs like the 1985, it will drink well young and continue to do so for 25 or more years." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Oct 2011)
93 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:
"Bright ruby. Perfumed, expressive aromas of red and dark berry preserves, smoky herbs and lavender, with a touch of licorice adding depth. Fleshy and supple in texture, offering intense black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors lifted by a spicy quality. Shows the richness of the vintage but carries no excess fat. The finish lingers with impressive tenacity and echoes the floral and smoke notes." - Josh Raynolds (Jan 2012)
"One of the more endowed 2009s, this is packed with dark smoldering cocoa, mesquite, tobacco and roasted fig notes, all inlaid with pure cassis and plum preserves fruit flavors. Long and authoritative on the finish, with singed vanilla bean and tar notes adding length and dimension. Best from 2015 through 2026. 4,000 cases imported." – JM (Feb 29, 2012)
94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is reminiscent of their brilliant 1985. It will be one of the rare Beaucastels that is drinkable upon release. Made from this estate’s classic blend, it possesses soft tannins as well as a silky, open-knit seductiveness, a dense plum/purple color and a beautiful perfume of smoky Provencal herbs intermixed with grilled steak juices, garrigue, kirsch and blue as well as black fruits. The wine is full-bodied, unctuously textured, and silky smooth (the latter characteristic being somewhat atypical for a young Beaucastel). If it performs like the 1985, it will drink well young and continue to do so for 25 or more years." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Oct 2011)
93 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:
"Bright ruby. Perfumed, expressive aromas of red and dark berry preserves, smoky herbs and lavender, with a touch of licorice adding depth. Fleshy and supple in texture, offering intense black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors lifted by a spicy quality. Shows the richness of the vintage but carries no excess fat. The finish lingers with impressive tenacity and echoes the floral and smoke notes." - Josh Raynolds (Jan 2012)