Château de Beaucastel 2001 Wine Review

Alex & Priya - Certified Sommelier rated this wine as 91/100 with the following review:

Priya: Kind of musty-funky smelling (Alex is saying "nooo!" as I write that but hey, that's what I smell!) Strangely the taste echoes the smell, a bit funky and musty but with an undercurrent of bold, ripe fruit. Two years ago I probably would have intensely disliked this wine but I guess my palate is changing after all because I rather enjoy it now. I don't think I'd pay $160 for it though. 88 pts

Alex: The 2001 is drinking beautifully this day with soaring aromatics of leather and truffle, animal fur, mature soy-infused raspberries, and wet forest floor after an autumn rain. These aromatics have changed several times over 2 nights of drinking, ever novel and perplexing. The palate is surprisingly lean and mid-weight, with mourvedre-style silky spiderweb tannins, racy orange-tinged raspberry and cherry fruit, quite contained alcohol and zesty acidity. In fact, I'd say the acidity stands out on the finish. The wine fleshed out on the mid-palate and sung the sweetest after 4 hours of air (no decant), and while still delicious through the second day, was not as strong as it was on the first. While this will gain further complexity over another 10 or so years, I believe the time to drink is right now after 4 hours open in the bottle. An excellent Chateauneuf, and worth a view even at the LCBO's steep price of $159, but I feel that is the maximum that can be charged for this wine. 93 pts

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Château de Beaucastel 2001 Wine Review

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