Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2003 (12x75cl OWC)

Description

By Wine Enthusiast (WE95)
One of the big names of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this wine justifies the fame of the Perrin family’s property. It is a rich style, but, more importantly, it is beautifully made, structured, dense, with red jelly fruits, a touch of vanilla and a fat, full-bodied, but firm aftertaste. This is a wine for aging—give it at least five years before touching it. Imported by Michael Skurnik Wines.

By Wine Spectator in 2006 (WS94)
Young and tight, with garrigue and roasted game aromas peeking out from a core of ripe black currant, plum and fig fruit. Lots of toast tobacco and iron as well. The finish is well-endowed with tannins, but they are ripe and pure.

By Robert Parker in 2006 (RP92+)
The 2003 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape turned out as well as I could have hoped and is certainly an outstanding wine, deep ruby/purple with a tight but promising nose of black fruits, loamy, earthy notes intermixed with pepper, smoke, licorice, and dried herbs. The wine is somewhat closed in the mouth (but it had been bottled 30 days prior to my visit), has full bodied, moderately high, slightly rustic tannins, but big-impact flavors with plenty of texture, density, and purity. Give this wine 3-5 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 20 years.