Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007 - 14,5% abv
"This is the most awesome Beaucastel ever. It smells of a liquid fig reduction. It's almost silly in its inky iodine kirsch liqueur aromas. Great fruit on the attack follows through on the mid-palate, creating the impression of opulence and generosity in a seamlessly constructed, lush format. A prime quality wine deserves a prime number rating: 101 points!" is what I imagine RP writing about this.
I don't know if he got quite this pointy, but I do understand that this is a very pointy wine, indeed. And I can kind of understand that. This does show a rather nice, Mourvèdre-forward profile with its lovely dark, meaty, pomegranate aromas; a very ripe style but still refreshingly structured with a nice hit of cleansing tannins on the finish. But I do have one worry: on occasional sniffs the fresh fruit turns pruney. And I don't enjoy it when the fruit goes from fresh to dried.
For me: borderline. This is good but not great. I would prefer to have other, cooler year Beaucastels if I could choose. But I think the ripeness will not bother most people.