This looks to be an all-time Beaucastel great. Indeed, Vinous rates it the best ever:
Saturated violet color. Powerful, mineral-accented cherry, blackberry, licorice and -garrigue- scents, along with a hint of candied flowers. Deep, penetrating and alluringly sweet, offering cherry liqueur, dark berry, lavender, exotic spice and cola flavors that are given spine by a core of juicy acidity. In a concentrated yet lively, fluid style. Finishes extremely long and precise, with building tannins and a powerful echo of spiciness and florality.
Dunnuck rates it the best since 2000:
The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape is the usual blend of roughly 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties that was brought up in foudre. It offers a vivid ruby/purple hue as well as stunning aromatics of blueberries, violets, peppered beef, leather, and spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant, it has just a kiss of classic Beaucastel wild, sauvage nuances, ripe, silky tannins, and a great finish. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two decades.
And British Rhone expert Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth gives it his top 5-star rating (nailing the description):
Really full, engaging dark robe; the bouquet is cool, comes with immediate Southern notes, lines up black olives, licorice from the Mourvèdre, with a note of grilling, blackcurrant fruit, cherry, cherry stone. It purrs along with stylish assurance. The palate is also elegant, pleasingly textured via its smooth flow of mixed fruits, refined and tasty tannins in the mix. There is a most discreet build in juice intensity as the finish nears. This is maximum detailed Beaucastel, very much in the modern idiom of restraint and velvet feel. No more the back streets of Avignon here, very much Rue Joseph de XXX! It is nearer Burgundy than the traditional Southern Rhône, reflecting the education of la jeunesse de la maison. It will show well pretty early on thanks to its balance and serenity. From 2023. 2044-46
This looks set to be another legendary Beaucastel – if not the best in years. And it’s $40 less than the lowest NC price for the lower rated 2018 vintage!