Chateauneuf-du-Pape blend
75cl * Organic * 14.5% ABV * Rhone Valley, France
When one hears 'Chateauneuf-du-Pape', one thinks of full-bodied, earthy wines with spice and weight - and yet so often we're disappointed. Not so with Chateau de Beaucastel, a family-run estate dating back to the sixteenth century at the very northern edge of the Chateauneuf appellation. Why is that important? Well, it's the part of the region most exposed to the Mistral winds, which they liken to 'nature's hairdryer', effortlessly drying the fruit after summer showers, avoiding unhealthy mildew and rot, and blowing off bugs and grubs.
The Perrin family, who have owned the chateau for coming onto five generations now, are passionate about their winemaking, so much so that each of the 13 grape varieties that make up CNDP are vinified separately, before being blended together according to the family's closely guarded secret recipe. What we can tell you, though, is that the Grenache and Cinsault provide colour, warmth, roundness while the Mourvedre, Syrah, Muscardin and Vaccarese give the wine its structure and aging ability. Counoise and Picpoul provide that final oomph to the body and palate.
Once blended, the wine spends a year in oak barrel and then a further year in bottle before leaving the winery.
~ Taurus Tasting notes from a tasting on 6th October 2021 ~
"Wow, what a wine - garrigue, herb, and blackberries dusted with black pepper on the nose. Mixed red-fruits, cassis, and more herb on the complex and sophisticated well balanced palate. Fantastic."
Drinking window 2024 - 2035+
"Cask sample, tasted at the domaine. What a stunning nose! Piercingly fresh and expressive notes of violet, garrigue and black-olive tapenade. Defined tannins support the fresh zesty mid palate and is all beautifully encased in a toasty cape of dark fruit." 18/20 points, Jancis Robinson MW (Nov 2020)
James Suckling sampled this a month apart in 2022 and noted "Very dense black-fruit aromas, but also licorice, an entire microcosm of spice and a whiff of smoked bacon. Very dense and meaty with an incredible tannin structure that enables this to be simultaneously very big and elegant. Super-long finish with enormous mineral freshness. Drink or hold." a month later was taken by its "Stunning nose, in which deep red-fruit character is married to meaty, spicy, and caramel aromas. Powerful and very well structured, the tannins are still very present, but the overwhelming impression is of elegance. Very long, dry finish with plenty of stony minerality. Gives a very good idea of the direction that the best 2020s will take." 96-97/100 points, James Suckling (Feb & March 2022)
"Fresh and bright nose, then a palate with exceptionally smooth and fine tannins, lovely acidity and notes of blackberry and raspberry juice. Particularly fine, elegant and balanced this year. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre." 96/100 points, Decanter Magazine (Oct 2020)
"Beaucastel's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape is shaping up as a blend of 30% each Grenache and Mourvèdre, with 10% each Counoise and Syrah, plus 20% other permitted varieties, including a healthy proportion of white grapes. Complex and red-fruited, with hints of flowers and garrigue, it's expansive and richly textured on the palate, finishing long and silky." 95-97/100 points, Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (May 2022)
"The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape has lots of Mourvèdre character in its bright red and blue fruits as well as spice, pepper, and assorted meaty nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness on the palate, it shows the fresh, elegant, yet still nicely concentrated style of the vintage and is unquestionably another impressive, classic vintage for this cuvée. It should offer some pleasure in its youth as well as evolve for 20+ years in cold cellars." 93-95/100 points, Jeb Dunnock (Nov 2021)