Board-O, you misunderstand me. I am already letting my Rhone’s age properly because I prefer them mature, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate their appeal in youth. They are completely different wines, and it's not wrong to enjoy them one way or the other. Or both.

I had the `01 Beaucastel back in February at the Bay Area Wine Project and it wasn't showing well at all.

Eric, don't misunderstand me. Drink your wine whenever you like and I have no problem with that, but I've been there and done that. I've drabbed too many bottles, and most of them were Rhones. Because they don't hit you over the head with tannin in their youth, they may seem ready to drink. They did to me. Some were even pretty good, but in their maturity they were so much better that I regretted the drabisms.

mayak, my definition of old fartitude- when you hate having your birthday. I am there. As a kid, birthdays were so much fun. Now all they are to me is a different number to punch in on the elliptical trainer.

"drabism"? I didn't know it had become a noun.

I've seen it used as a gerund... 'drabbing'.

I've also seen it as an adjective... 'a drabbed bottle of wine'.

My goodness. What a versatile little word!

For some, it's a religion: drabism

Of course, following this path of blasphemy may get you called in front of theBoard-o Inquisition .

THE BOARD-O INQUISITION!?!

lol. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Same here.

Parker is on a Rhone fetish now. But his comments on the 2001 are telling...that's it's little different than the Hommage, a hugely expensive wine. 91 or 96 pts, Beaucastel Rouge will be an excellent wine.

And,while not a bargain at $60 or so, it will almost certainly drink well in 10 years, just before the '98 comes into peak.

While I enjoy the TN on early drunk French wines, I prefer to wait for tannins to integrate and the wines become less chewy. I enjoy others' TN vicariously as I usually do not buy in quantities to allow annual appraisals. So I wait. Won't see me first on the TN list. OTOH, I easy pass the Board-O inquisition.

Disagree with one thing there, Dr. T. From what I've read, the 1998 should be ready many years before the 2001.

Board-O

Just going by Parker's (WA) and Moleworth's (WS) comments on the BEAUCASTEL.

2001- WA= maturity up to 2025; forward vintage....; WS drink now to 2011.

1998- WA= maturity up to 2028, very backward vintage..;.. WS- says drink 2010-2030

I am no expert at predicting length, and I have not opened up either, but from the face of it, you might want to reconsider your position

I certainly haven't tasted either (perish the thought!). My comments on what I've read had to do with the characteristics of the vintages in the southern Rhone in those two years. The 1998s are supposedly early maturing while the 2001s need a lot more bottle age. That is from Parker. I didn't bother checking anything specifically.

Medium-dark garnet colour. Aromas of alcohol that blew off with time, black plums, black cherry, spice, lilacs. Full-bodied, with plums and currant notes. Moderate finish, 25-30s. Way too young. 91 points (02/17/2005).

It should be a capital offense to drab that wine at this age. We need a graemlin shaking its head in disbelief.

See my comment in the Hommage thread about this.

See my comment in the Hommage thread about this.

lol!