Chateau De Beaucastel Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rouge 2011

A benchmark Chateauneuf-du-Pape crafted from all thirteen permitted grape varieties. Rich and beautifully balanced, it reveals layers of black fruit, spice, garrigue, and silky tannins with remarkable freshness, depth, and outstanding ageing potential.

Food Pairing: Pairs best with roast lamb, venison, beef tenderloin, duck confit, wild mushrooms, and aged hard cheeses.

94 Points - Wine Enthusiast

An impressive wine by any measure, this shows ample complexity in its mix of black cherry, dark earth and briery notes. The tannins frame the wine’s opulent fruit, while remaining wonderfully unobtrusive. This should drink well for at least 15 years from the vintage.

94 Points - Wine Spectator

Very sleek and refined despite the obvious heft, featuring steeped red and black currant fruit studded with bergamot, blood orange, sweet tobacco and alder notes. The long, racy finish has a lovely echo of singed mesquite.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Showing attractive aged notes of black truffle balanced against red raspberries, Beaucastel's medium to full-bodied 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape appears to be at its peak. Silky and elegant, it's not a huge powerhouse but is a charming effort that remains reasonably fresh. It should drink well for the rest of this decade. Best After 2015.

93 Points - Wine & Spirits

Although the hot spring and cool, wet July of 2011 made for some challenges (yields were down 50 percent from 2010), this is a lush and inviting vintage of Beaucastel. It stands out not only for the exuberance of its cassis flavor but its purity; if that flavor were a color, it’d be cadmium red. While it should hold well in the cellar for a few years, it is so appealing now it’s hard to think of a reason to wait.