1998 Chateauneuf-du-pape, Ch. de Beaucastel

I am impressed. This deep ruby wine offers complex and pronounced aromas with mushroom, strawberry and savoury at the beginning. It further evolves to floral and red fruit flavours. On plate, an addition of mint and licorice is sensed. It has medium body and acidity. The tannin is soft and supple. A long finish which makes me deeply impressed and the after taste lingers for quite a while. Life may be too short to drink this beauty. (97) (2 November 2008)

Taste this wine again tonight. In the 2 hours tasting time, the wine evolves from black fruit and floral to earthy, meaty and leathery flavour together with a lengthy licorice flavour. The wine remains intact and complex throughout these two hours. The finish is also strong and long. Though this bottle is not so powerful than the previous one, it does not let me down and can be drunk beautifully. (96) (25 January 2009)