Ok, short but sweet. We're finally breaking into the 2000 Beaucastel (no, not the Châteauneuf) Coudelet (Côtes-du-Rhône). I so did not want to start drinking this stuff too early. I know I'm totally out of step in this regard. Everyone today drinks wine at an obscenely young age and most of them (wines), sadly, are now meant to be consumed just that way. But really young wines still give me a headache and a nasty hangover so I'm still aging 'em.

And this one has come around nicely, assuming, well, that you like wines with a little age on them. It's a baby Beaucastel, with equal parts of Mourvèdre and Grenache dominating but with a larger dose of Syrah and Cinsault just behind. And just the slightest hint of Brett. Mourvèdre just takes longer than most other grapes to come around and Beaucastel has more of it than most other Châteauneufs. So patience is a virtue. At least in this case.

And the 2000 Beaucastel Châteauneufs? I'm not touching in the foreseeable future.