Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge is made from 30% each Grenache and Mourvèdre, with 10% each Counoise and Syrah, plus 20% other permitted varieties, including a healthy proportion of white grapes.
The story :
Château de Beaucastel has long been considered one of the great wines of France. It is unanimously renowned for its balance, elegance and ageing potential. Beaucastel has an extraordinary terroir at the Northern end of the appellation with heavy exposure to the Mistral. All 13 varieties of the appellation have been organically grown here since the sixties.
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 authorised by the appellation.
Ageing :
Each variety is harvested manually and separately. Vinification is completed in truncated oak barrels for the reductive grapes (Mourvèdre and Syrah) and in traditional tiled cement tanks for the oxidative grapes (such as Grenache). After the malolactic fermentations, the family blends the different varieties and then the wine ages in oak Foudres for a year before bottling.
Review:
deep, quite herbal expression, with liquorice and crushed blueberries to the cassis fruit. Full-bodied, powerfully fruited, dense and deep. Really mouthcoating, intense fruit. The tannins are ripe, fine and plentiful, all saturated in blackberry juice on a long finish. Certainly one of the more successful Châteauneufs this year. Will age well. A Mourvèdre-led expression of Beaucastel - it contains more than usual, at least 35% and probably more. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre. (MW) (9/2022)
-Decanter 96 Points
Our DuMOL Estate Vineyard is our original high-density vine planting from 2004. It’s organically farmed without irrigation – these vines work hard each season. We make a strict selection for this bottling, one of our flagship wines, so that only three acres of its nine total comprise this bottling; the balance forms the core of Highland Divide. This is the best of the best. The high vine density and exclusively Calera Selection produce a wine with a significant level of both tannin and acidity. This structure is buffered by a deep core of fruit extract, the product of the ripe grape skins themselves, and the essence of the wine. Each vintage can age for many years, and it gradually deepens into a woodsy, truffley, and enveloping wine with grand scale complexity while never relinquishing its inherent brightness.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are akin to black cherry, boysenberry, hibiscus, anise, moss, and juniper. The palate is simultaneously bright yet dark, with mineral drive, violet floral lift, and bay laurel freshness. Tannins and acidity fuse to lengthen these flavors, and the wine finishes with dried herbs and orange zest lift. Great aging potential. Drink between 2025 and 2034 and decant for an hour in its youth to hasten the development.
Review:
Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard comes barreling out with bold notes of fresh blackberries and black cherries opening out to suggestions of anise, garrigue, and lilacs. The medium-bodied palate reveals impactful black berry flavors with wonderfully spicy accents supported by grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with a minerally lift. This is an all Calera vineyard. (LPB)
-The Wine Independent 97 Points