TN: 1988 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

[DavidG]

• 1988 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/3/2009)
  Very similar to last bottle. Drunk next to '98 Beaucastel and the resemblance is remarkable. Dark red core, lightening with a little bricking at the rim. Forward nose of cherry, strawberry, leather, roast meat, earthy forest floor. No barnyard/bretty aromas. Medium body, fruit, leather and earthiness follow on the palate, nice balance, still a little tannin present, fruit intensity fades a bit on the back palate but a bit of sweet aged forest floor comes in mid-palate and persists for a nice finish. Should hold a few more years at least. Excellent.

Posted from CellarTracker

[johnz]

David -- I've had many '88 Beaucastel bottles, and I agree with your assessment. I've found these "lesser vintages" of Beaucastel to be a real treat. I'm down to 3 or 4 bottles of the '94, which I also recommend -- and they can be had at auction for a very reasonable price ($40-$55). I even had a '92 years ago that was quite good. I've tasted the '81 once -- a gift to a wine dinner from Chris Bublitz -- that I'll not forget (I could smell it as the bottle was being passed on the other side of the table -- a bit too "poopy" for some). I've had the '89, but found the 1990 Beaucastel more to my liking and the best yet, but are the '89/'90 now worth 3-4 times the price of an '88 or '94? I dunno.

--Gary Rust

[AlainB.]

Recently we had a lot of pleasure with a 1989 Beaucastel. This bottle seemed to be at least 10 years younger than its real age!
My only concern is thinking how old I'll be when my CNDP 2005, 2006 or 2007 will reach their maturing stage..

[DavidG]

Yes, good bottles of the '89 are stunning! Many bottles of '89 Beau that came in to the US seemed to have cork problems - not TCA but leakers. I seem to have lucked out, as none of mine have been drippy...