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Presentation :
Château de Beaucastel has long been regarded as one of the greatest wines in France. It is notorious for its elegance, balance and ageing potential. Beaucastel has an exceptional terroir at the Northern limit of Châteauneuf du Pape, exposed to the Mistral wind. All thirteen varieties of the appellation have been organically grown since the sixties.
The vintage :
With fairly standard but slightly late weather conditions, the 2023 vintage is showing great potential with superb freshness. The fairly dry winter was followed by a relatively humid spring but with wind allowing to maintain good health. Budburst was a little late and this slight shift in the vine cycle lasted until the harvest. The summer was quite dry, and slightly cooler allowing the grapes to ripen nicely, despite a short heat wave in mid-August which completed the ripening of the berries. The harvest began on August 24th for the whites and on the 28th for the reds, and took place in idyllic conditions until September 5th. With magnificent berries, the vatting was quite short with great extractions. The first tastings reveal wines with great potential and astonishing freshness.
Location :
Châteauneuf du Pape, between Orange and Avignon, Château de Beaucastel red is a 70-hectare vineyard.
Terroir :
Château de Beaucastel is 110 hectares, with one single plot at the north of the appellation. The terroir is archetypal of the best terroirs in Châteauneuf: rolled pebbles on the surface, sand, clay and limestone deeper down. The vines are old and have been organically grown for 50 years, which has allowed the roots to grow exceptionally deep.
Beaucastel grows all thirteen grape varieties authorized by the appellation.
Ageing :
Each variety is harvested separately and manually. Vinification takes place in oak fermenters for the reductive varieties (Mourvèdre, Syrah) and in traditional enameled concrete tanks for the Oxidative grapes (all the others). Once the malolactic fermentation is finished, the Famille Perrin blends the different varieties. The blend is then aged in oak Foudres for a year before being bottled.
Cépages :
Grenache : 30%
Mourvèdre : 30%
Syrah : 15%
Counoise : 10%
Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne : 10%
Cinsault : 5%
Serving :
Around 15°C. If possible, decant the wine.
Tasting :
Magnificent bright red colour with carmine highlights. Powerful, generous and complex, the nose reveals a superb aromatic bouquet with aromas of black fruit, associated with notes of violet. Full bodied and silky, the mouth is dense, perfectly balanced by a beautiful freshness, and of a remarkable length. A refined and very harmonious wine, sign of great maturity. Generous in quality and in quantity, and of a great complexity.
"César Perrin poured me various different samples to convey an approximate idea of what the final blend of the 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape will taste like. A foudre that blends 50% Grenache with the remainder equally divided between Counoise and Cinsaut showed subtle spice, licorice and forest strawberry alongside gentle tannins. Another sample mingling Terret Noir, Muscardin and Vaccarèse presented excellent freshness, while the subsequent single-varietal Grenache snippet was totally alluring. A Syrah portion that used 50% whole clusters during fermentation provided minty shadings, stemminess and, again, very smooth tannins. Finally, a single-varietal Mourvèdre sample brought structure and fleshiness to the table. All in all, readers can look forward to yet another outstanding red Beaucastel with the potential to match or even outperform the delicious 2022."
Note : 93-95/100 - 2024-11-14
"Component parts and their approximate percentages of the final blend follow, though the blend is not yet finalised.
Sample 1: Terret Noir, Muscardin and Vaccarèse (5–10% of the blend)
Supple, rounded and ripe with succulent sweet tannins. Attractive, will give roundness.
Sample 2: Cinsault (5–10% of the blend)
Lovely fine tannins and a waxiness, tight and lovely length.
Sample 3: Counoise (10% of the blend, 50% whole bunch)
Round, supple Counoise is the last grape variety to be harvested – has real poise, elegance and finesse, super-fine tannins.
Sample 4: Grenache (30% of the blend)
Brooding, deep and wild palate with real structure and density. The tannins again are very fine and layered, taut and long finish.
Sample 5: Syrah (5–10% of the blend)
Wild and spiced nose. The palate has notes of baked earth, spice and leather. Something funky here for sure!
Sample 6: Mourvèdre (30% the blend)
Beautiful nose of liquorice and spice with garrigue and wild and spiced notes as well.
Fascinating to taste these component parts and to see what adds to the blend. I expect this to all blend beautifully, with a suppleness and finesse to it. Expect a very, very good Beaucastel from 2023. Drink 2030 – 2045"
Note : 17.5/20 - 2024-11-19
Drink responsibly
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