**Finish:** Charcoal, dark chocolate wrapped in wax paper.
**Overall Thoughts:** Classic Beaucastel. Smoke and fruit right up in your face, evolving into a well-structured outlay of flavours.
My immediate thought was that this is a very young-feeling wine, with the initial boost of blackcurrant hitting my nose, but it rapidly developed into the aged CdP profile I expected. Having said that, there’s definitely more fruit than I anticipated for a wine of this age, and in a blind taste, I’d have put the vintage at perhaps 2010.
The mineral-y sea spray sort of note on the aroma is unexpected but welcome. There’s a certain marine characteristic to this wine. I appreciate the mahogany note on the palate may seem abstract, but one sip and that’s as best as I can describe it. Like opening an antique Georgian wardrobe in a country house. The finish, that hit of dark chocolate wrapped in wax paper, is one I’ve been chasing for years!
It’s delicious. But would I pay £125/$165 for it again? No.
**Side notes:** The cork reads ‘B 29 03,’ am I right in thinking that’s the date of bottling?
Oxidises fairly quickly at the end of the glass, but that’s about what I expect for a CdP that’s my age.
3 Comments
**Colour:** Translucent red, tinged orange.
**Aroma:** Grilled blackcurrant, black olive, blood orange, good apple sauce, sea salt, smoke, sea spray, a hint of violet jelly.
**Palate:** Morello cherry, black and white pepper, charcoal, mahogany, raspberry creams, cocoa, a hint of potpourri, dried violets.
**Mouthfeel:** [Identical to the ‘99](https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/s/LEzdWkqBMi) but a touch more tannic.
**Finish:** Charcoal, dark chocolate wrapped in wax paper.
**Overall Thoughts:** Classic Beaucastel. Smoke and fruit right up in your face, evolving into a well-structured outlay of flavours.
My immediate thought was that this is a very young-feeling wine, with the initial boost of blackcurrant hitting my nose, but it rapidly developed into the aged CdP profile I expected. Having said that, there’s definitely more fruit than I anticipated for a wine of this age, and in a blind taste, I’d have put the vintage at perhaps 2010.
The mineral-y sea spray sort of note on the aroma is unexpected but welcome. There’s a certain marine characteristic to this wine. I appreciate the mahogany note on the palate may seem abstract, but one sip and that’s as best as I can describe it. Like opening an antique Georgian wardrobe in a country house. The finish, that hit of dark chocolate wrapped in wax paper, is one I’ve been chasing for years!
It’s delicious. But would I pay £125/$165 for it again? No.
**Side notes:** The cork reads ‘B 29 03,’ am I right in thinking that’s the date of bottling?
Oxidises fairly quickly at the end of the glass, but that’s about what I expect for a CdP that’s my age.
Haha pairs nicely with a big old sheet of matzo
Excellently written review! Nice backdrop, too 😎