1989 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape RP--97 WS--97

Wine Spectator: 97 Points
Score: 97 Release Price: $35 Current Auction Price: $200 Country: France Region: Southern Rhône Issue: Oct 15, 1991 Top 100: 1991, Rank: 1 Designation: Cellar Selection Perhaps the greatest Beaucastel ever produced. Has the class and structure of a great vintage of Mouton-Rothschild. Deep, inky in color, with intense herb, plum, game and spice aromas, this full-bodied wine has an explosion of fruit and an iron backbone. Try the beginning of next century.--Châteauneuf-du-Pape retrospective. Best from 1995 through 2005. 25,000 cases made. –JS

Robert Parker: 97 Points
eRobertParker.com # E2003 Jan 2003 Robert Parker 97 Drink: 2006 - 2023 $157-$499 The 1989 is inkier/purple in color than the 1990, with an extraordinarily sweet, rich personality offering up notes of smoke, melted licorice, black cherries, Asian spices, and cassis. Full-bodied and concentrated, it is one of the most powerful as well as highly extracted Beaucastels I have ever tasted. It requires another 3-4 years to reach its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for at least two decades. (Many purchasers have reported bottle leakage (due to a cork problem) with this vintage. I purchased two cases of this wine, but none of my bottles reveal any sign of leakage. A good friend of mine, Dr. Jay Miller, owner of Bin 604 Wine Sellers in Baltimore, has consistently had a problem with “corked” bottles of the 1989, but no leakage.)