Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2004

Châteauneuf-du-Pape has an alcohol problem. Over the past three decades, the appellation’s wines have gained a headache-inducing 2% of alcohol by volume. Global warming is certainly a factor, but it’s also been encouraged by critics who favour Big Wines. And Big Wines have meant Big Scores. It’s less a chicken or egg question, than chicken eats egg.

While the best producers are doing all they can to mitigate these changes – by favouring late-ripening varieties and earlier harvest dates; embracing whole-bunch fermentation; and using concrete and ceramic vessels in place of wood – it is increasingly only in older vintages that one can find balance and a freshness that cuts through that delicious mix of dark fruit and animal funk.

Step up Château de Beaucastel, one of the leaders of the Châteauneuf pack.