Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre
75cl * Vegan & Organic * 14.5% ABV * Rhone, France
Château Beaucastel has long been regarded in France as one of the greatest wines in France. It processes elegance, balance and aging potential. The wine has been organic since the 1960s and the vines are old, with roots that bury deep into the ground.
The 2009 is a near perfect example of the best Beaucastel have to offer. The year was very good and the climactic factors meant that the juice made a well balanced wine with great acidity, despite the very hot August.
The wine is a deep ruby, almost black, yet the nose is delicate. Notes of red and black fruit and spices and lavender. On the palate the wine is rich and unctuous, with figs, cherries, blackcurrants and stewed fruits. Great acidity runs through and the tannins are well integrated. This wine, if you can keep your hands off, will continue to age well but is drinking beautifully now.
96 Points, Jeb Dunnuck, 2011, 'The 2009 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape had just been bottled at the time of tasting but you wouldn't know it by tasting it. A blend of 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise and 20% assorted varieties, the wine delivers a superb aromatic display of kirsch and black cherry-like fruits to go with a solid dose of underlying meat, truffle, earth and leather. Full-bodied and gorgeously concentrated through the middle, with fleshy, ripe fruit, good acidity, and an abundance of structure, this will ideally be left alone for 7-8 years and then consumed over the following two decades.'
94 Points, Robert Parker, 2011, Wine Advocate, The 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is reminiscent of their brilliant 1985. It will be one of the rare Beaucastels that is drinkable upon release. Made from this estates classic blend, it possesses soft tannins as well as a silky, open-knit seductiveness, a dense plum/purple colour and a beautiful perfume of smoky Provencal herbs intermixed with grilled steak juices, garrigue, kirsch and blue as well as black fruits. The wine is full-bodied, unctuously textured, and silky smooth (the latter characteristic being somewhat atypical for a young Beaucastel). If it performs like the 1985, it will drink well young and continue to do so for 25 or more years.'