1998 CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE ROUGE - A VERY ERRATIC BEAUCASTEL

Château de Beaucastel is one of the best known of all the great producers in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It is the only producer in the appellation to use all 13 permitted grape varieties. While almost all Chateauneuf-du-Papes are Grenache-dominant, filled out the by the likes of Syrah, Mourvèdre and others, Beaucastel is typically Mourvèdre heavy.

Château de Beaucastel is one of relatively few producers to practice thermo-vinification, whereby the grapes are heated up to roughly 70 degrees Celsius upon being received at the winery. This practice is employed primarily for Grenache, which is highly oxidative, and allows for lower amounts of sulphur dioxide to be employed when finishing the wine.

On release, 1998 was heralded as a great vintage in the southern Rhône, one characterised by rich, full bodied wines that had the potential to age very well. The blend for Château de Beaucastel’s 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape in 1998 favoured Grenache, rather than the normal Mourvèdre. When tasted young, within several years of vintage, this wine showed superbly, a near perfect marriage of primary fruit, spice and lifted floral characters. The wine promised much for the future. Less than fifteen years from vintage and it seems that the wine is near full maturity, primary fruit faded, meaty, gamey secondary spice to the fore. Better bottles, such as the one described below, display a good amount of complexity and a modicum of interest, but are simply not as enjoyable as the same wine tasted several years earlier.

A lot has been written about the 1998 vintage in the southern Rhône, many suggesting that a good number of the wines failed to live up to their initial promise. In the case of Château de Beaucastel, a disappointingly high percentage of bottles have been badly oxidized, notwithstanding good storage and seemingly good quality cork seals. Whether this is down to the vintage, Beaucastel’s use of thermo-vinification (and correspondingly gentle application of sulphur dioxide), who can say. Suffice to say, bottles of ‘baby Beaucastel’, 2000 Coudoulet de Beaucastel, a ‘modest’ Côtes-du-Rhône, have performed far better with extended bottle age than the 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

1998 CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE ROUGE
Producer: Château de Beaucastel
Variety: Grenache et al
Vintage: 1998
Region: Southern Rhône, France
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: N/a
Date tasted: 28 October 2010

Tasting Note:
Mid-garnet, bricking at the rim. Evolved nose of tar, roasted spices (clove, aniseed), touch animale, leather, polished wood, olive. Dry, medium bodied, mature, meaty and savoury, touch of cherry. Quite leathery. Secondary characters rather than primary fruit are driving this wine. Drink up.
Score: 16.5/20