Newbie with question and requesting comments

Hi,

New to the board (been lurking a while though) and started up by posting a couple of TN's as a first attempt at posting on this board. I hope that they are of a style that is acceptable on this board but if they are not then I would appreciate some helpful hints.

Also I have a question. I received notice of a pre-arrival sale of the 2005 CDP from Chateau Beaucastel. They are selling for approximately $80 a bottle with Mags at about $160.

I've looked on wine-searcher and found no other prices. Are these pre-arrival prices reasonable? They are for the standard red CDP product.

In the context of the gradual price creap that occurs, plus the unfavorable exchange rate at the moment, $80 is a little high, but probably not too far out of line for Beaucastel. For example, the 2004 is going for $70-75.

Still, it may not be to your advantage to buy from the first dealer who offers it, as the wine is not hard to obtain after release. There may be no reason to tie up your money now for this wine. I would wait a while until a few offers have hit the street.

Nice tasting note Michael. The only 'rule' for tasting notes is that the title is generaly prefixed with WTN: which is short for Wine Tasting Note, and aids the search facility to find tasting notes in the future. Keep 'em coming, and welcome to the WLDG.

Nice tasting note Michael.

I don't see no tasting note?!

thanks for the comments and feedback. The two WTN's are posted elsewhere. Sorry for the confusion.

reference.

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/vil ... php?t=5628

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/vil ... php?t=5569

Here's my two cents.

While Beaucastel is a great winery, if you're not sure if you like Chateauneuf du Pape (CdP) or not, I'd start with another (cheaper) producer. Beaucastel is more expensive (at least double) than many other producers, and it also takes longer - about 10 years - to reach its prime drinking window compared to many other CdP.

The 2005 vintage is said to be a great one in the Southern Rhone, so great CdP's from that vintage shouldn't be hard to find. You could check out: Vieux Donjon, Ferrand, Vieux Telegraphe, Clos des Papes, Bosquet des Papes, Cristia, Les Cailloux, etc. There are many excellent producers.

Better yet, try to buy a couple bottles from a good producer in the excellent 2001 vintage: there are often often for business now (after a good decant), and it would give you an idea if you like them or not. They are much cheaper, too!

If you already know you love CdP (like me!), then ignore these comments! $70-80 will probably be an average price for this wine.

It's a good price for 2005. They're more like $100 retail here and they won't be that cheap again.



Prost!
Bill

John,

Many thanks for that and I'm still fairly new to wine (few years only, many many many more years of experience needed), I do like my Rhones though. From your list, I've only every tried Vieux Donjon, Vieux Telegraphe, Clos des Papes, and Les Cailloux. Thanks for the list though as I will look out for Ferrand, Bosquet des Papes, and Cristia.

I often end up in BC as that is my other office. I love going through the Okanagan Valley starting off at Penticton and then driving South through the Vineyards. Picked up a few from Mission Hill, Quail's Nest, and NK'MIP Cellars last time.

Bill,

Thanks for the heads up on the pricing. I appreciate the help!

Beaucastel has over the years been plagued by brett contamination. Some vintages are perfectly clean. Some have a pleasant touch of the old barnyard/sweaty saddle. Some positively reek.

I toured the winery around the turn of the century. One thing that struck me was how squeaky-clean everything was compared to most of the French cellars I've toured. The fermenting rooms and maturing cellars were spotless and gleamingly antiseptic. In contrast, many cellars you visit harbor molds that could star in their own Hollywood B-movie horror flick.

Yet the B-word yeast has continued to haunt Beuacastel. The tour guide mentioned that they steam-treat all of the harvested grapes before they crush them. That got me thinking--perhaps the problem is that Brettanomyces has established itself as an indiginous yeast in their vineyards. That would explain the steam-cleaning, and the persistence of brett in the wines, despite the obvious scrupulous cleanliness of the premises in which they're made.

This all being said, I don't mind a bit of brett in my wine, I've bought many vintages of Beaucastel, and enjoyed the vast majority of them very much.

I prefer the smaller operation Clos Mont Olivet, based both on quality and on price, but I won't say no to Beaucastel.

-Paul W.

I would love to take a trip there one day. Travel a lot for business but no where near France.....

I read about the heat treating on another site, The Wine Doctor (http://www.thewinedoctor.com/tastingspr ... stel.shtml)

"This is purportedly to prevent oxidation, improve extraction of anthrocyanins from the grape skins, which impart colour and flavour, slows fermentation and avoids the use of sulphur. "

It references the same action but the winery attibutes this to someting other than Brett. Though now that you noted it, it seems a bit strange. This is a portion of the article that they have posted on their site.

(BTW, am I allowed to quote this way?)

"This is purportedly to prevent oxidation, improve extraction of anthrocyanins from the grape skins, which impart colour and flavour, slows fermentation and avoids the use of sulphur. "

It references the same action but the winery attibutes this to someting other than Brett. Though now that you noted it, it seems a bit strange. This is a portion of the article that they have posted on their site.

Yes, that was the story from the tour guide, too, when I asked about the steam-cleaning practice. But of course, if your vineyard had a Brett problem, would you admit it? So who knows? Without taking samples from the vines and culturing them, there's no way to be sure.

-Paul W.