1999 Chateau De Beaucastel Chateauneuf Du Pape 75cl / 13.5%

A bottle of 1999 Châteauneuf du Pape from producer Château de Beaucastel. Unusually, Beaucastel grow and vinify all 13 grape varieties permitted by the appellation.

'The 1999 vintage of Château de Beaucastel is a wine of indifferent reputation, as it falls between the very hyped (and far riper) years of 1998 and 2000, but to my palate, this is the superior wine, as it is quite classical in profile and does not have to contend with the higher alcohol levels of its two flanking vintages. The bouquet at age twenty is beautifully complex, wafting from the glass in that signature Beaucastel blend of cassis, fruitcake, pepper, bonfires, a fine base of stony soil tones, hung game, balsam bough and the very first vestiges of the sous bois to come with further evolution in bottle. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, excellent soil signature, still a touch of backend tannin and lovely length and grip on the well-balanced finish. This is a sleeper vintage of Beaucastel that is starting to drink very well indeed, but still has decades of life ahead of it. 93/100' 92 points John Gilman

This 1999 Chateau De Beaucastel sold at our online auction for £70