Showing a youthful red color with some slight lightening at the edges, the 1985 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a beautiful Beaucastel funk nose with ripe raspberries, earth, leather, mushroom and sauvage notes. Perfumed, nuanced and complex, this held up wonderfully over the course of dinner and even gained intensity with air. The palate is medium bodied with a silky, almost seamless texture, nice balance and a medium length finish. Everything is perfectly integrated and this was drinking amazingly well. An awesome wine.