Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Rhône > Southern Rhône > Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Perrin - Château de Beaucastel
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.
That may explain the open-knit, complex notes of tree bark, black cherries, licorice, seaweed, pepper, and floral notes in the 1998 Beaucastel. The wine is medium to full-bodied, has nice, sweet tannins, and is surprisingly open and approachable. This wine has reached the beginning of its plateau of maturity, where it should last for at least a decade or more.
Atypically forward for a wine from Beaucastel, my recollection is that the actual percentage of Grenache, which never exceeds the Mourvedre in their final blend, was much higher in 1998 than in other years.
Lotus of Siam #2 hedonist gazette
The 1998 Châteauneuf du Pape is the greatest effort produced since Beaucastel's 1989 and 1990. It reveals more accessibility, no doubt because the final blend included more Grenache than normal. Its dense purple colour is followed by sweet aromas of blackberries, licorice, new saddle leather, and earth. There is superb concentration, full body, low acidity, and high tannin, but it is surprisingly drinkable for such a young Beaucastel. Ideally, it needs another 3-4 years of cellaring, and should keep for 25-30 years. This great Beaucastel should rival the superb Châteauneufs produced in 1990, 1989, and 1981.
More accessible is the spectacular 1998 Beaucastel Rouge… it is an explosively rich, remarkably flattering Beaucastel, even after bottling. It is flamboyant, no doubt because of the larger than normal percentage of Grenache. It boasts explosive richness, thick, juicy blackberry and kirsch liqueur, smoke, liquorice, roasted meats, and truffles. The acidity seems low (analytically it is the same as 1999) and the wine fat, full-bodied and intense. It will be hard to stay away from this wine, even though it will evolve for 25-30 years. Could it turn out to be similar to the 1981 rather than the 1989?
The superb 1998 CDP is once again a classic blend (for Beaucastel, not CDP) of 30% Mourvedre, 30% Grenach, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 5% Cinsault, with the balance of other permitted grape varieties. The colour is a dense, saturated purple with blue highlights. Huge, rich and full-bodied, with high tannin, and a layered finish, this is not for readers seeking a CDP to drink at an early age. Its mouthcoating extract does not totally conceal the significant tannin. It appears 8-10 years of cellaring will be warranted; the wine should last for 3-4 decades. 92-94+