Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 750ml

A very dark ruby color with purple tinges. Intense aromas of ripe fruit, blackberry jam, spices and a hint of liquorice. The mouth is expressive and full bodied, well balanced between fruit and tannins

96 Points - Wine Spectator

#8 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2008

Really dense and locked up now, this is packed with dark fig, currant and blackberry fruit shrouded by layers of tar, hot stone, bittersweet licorice and espresso. The long, dense finish has a great tug of iron buried within it. Best from 2011 through 2030.

96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

Young but far from unapproachable, the 2005 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape has screaming aromatics of bloody meats, iron, and truffle that are wrapped around a gorgeously fruited core. Medium to full bodied with beautiful structure, a solid, full mid-palate, a smooth, precise texture and a long finish, this is a smoking bottle of wine! Give it another 3 to 5 years in the cellar and then drink over the following 20.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a wine that probably needs 7-10 years of bottle age. Possibly the most backward and closed Beaucastel made since the 1995, the wine has very high tannins, seems totally closed aromatically, but in the mouth is a weighty wine exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color and tight aromatics consisting of new saddle leather, porcini, meat juices, licorice, tar, and black fruits. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, very tannic, and structured in a dramatically masculine, ageworthy style. This is one for the younger generation or those with considerable patience. I can't see it being close to drinkable before 2014 and lasting up to 30 or more years.