The 2016 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is a proprietary blend from the renowned Chateau de Beaucastel in Southern Rhone, France. This red wine, bottled with a cork closure, boasts an alcohol content of 14.5%.
This vintage is composed of 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the remaining 20% a mix of permitted varieties. Jeb Dunnuck highlights its "ripe, sexy, rounded style" with notes of blackberries, blueberries, smoked earth, violets, and garrigue. He further commends its structure, minerality, and tannin, suggesting it will benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age and has the potential to age for two decades, comparing it to the 2001 vintage. Dunnuck scores it a notable 96+.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, with a score of 97, was equally impressed. Joe Czerwinski describes it as "full-bodied, creamy, lush and rich," with layers of raspberry fruit, garrigue, and spice that unfold across a seamless palate. He advises against storing it without tasting it first, emphasizing its lusciousness and youthful complexity.
James Suckling awards it an impressive 99 points, calling it "a stunning Beaucastel" and "a classic." Nick Stock praises its superb array of fruit, from red to blue and darker purple and black, alongside nuances of dark minerals, spices, wildflowers, and herbs. He commends its impeccable balance, super-silky tannins, and extraordinarily long finish, noting it has decades ahead of it for aging.
Jeff Leve from TheWineCellarInsider.com gives it 98 points, noting its aromatic complexities with pepper, leaf, wet earth, spice, old wood, dark cherry, and plum. He describes it as polished, deep, fresh, concentrated, and sweet, with a purity and symmetry that makes it a treat to taste, even at this young stage. Marc Perrin considers it the best wine produced since the acclaimed 1989 and 1990 vintages.
Decanter, awarding 96 points, describes the nose as tightly wound but showing fresh black fruits and an underlying herbal seam. The palate is full-bodied yet lifted and fresh, with powerful fruit and ripe tannins. It is beautifully textured, integrated, and balanced, with great length and energy.
Wine Spectator, also giving it 97 points, notes it is "youthfully reticent" but warm and polished, with a core of cassis, raspberry, and cherry puree. The finish reveals notes of red licorice, warm stone, and singed mesquite and cedar. The wine is concentrated yet precise, recommended for the cellar until 2023-2040.
In summary, the 2016 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is a highly praised wine with excellent reviews across the board, lauded for its complexity, balance, and aging potential.