Château de Beaucastel 2006

Château Beaucastel produces some of the most legendary expressions of Châteauneuf de Pape out of the entire Southern Rhône Region.  They describe their terroir as, “marked by the Rhône violence.”  The Southern Rhône is known for its difficult terroir, with its giant heat absorbing stones called galets and the blustery wind known as the mistral that keeps humidity away from the grapes.  Grapes need certain levels of stress in the vineyard in order to reveal their fullest potential once bottled.  It is natural then, that such an incomparable producer of Châteauneuf de Pape would have a terroir capable of such extremes.  Yet the gifted family of vignerons who run this estate, the Perrin family, possess an intimate knowledge of this land and are able to work harmoniously with it to create some of the most renowned expressions of Châteauneuf de Pape in the world.
 
Château de Beaucastel is one of the oldest properties within the Southern Rhône appellation, with a long history that dates back to the 16th Century.  Château de Beaucastel dates back to 1549, when the families first started cultivating parts of the Rhône Valley and Pierre de Beaucastel purchased a small parcel of land located in the Coudoulet appellation.  Several centuries later, the property was acquired by Pierre Tramier in 1909 from Ellie Dussaud, who purchased the land in 1870.  Interestingly enough, Dussaud was known for working alongside Ferdinand de Lesseps, who helped build the Suez Canal.  Once Pierre Tramier took over operations at the property, quality began to improve, and the critics started to take notice.  After Pierre Tramier passed, he willed the property to his son-in-law, Pierre Perrin.  Château de Beaucastel is now considered the most famous Châteauneuf du Pape and has been run by four generations of the Perrin family. 
 
Château de Beaucastel believes in respecting terroir above everything else.  They were true innovators in their field and practiced organic viticulture in the 1950s.  The terroir is a mixture of sandstone, stone and limestone soils.  The signature large rocks are called galets, which insulate the vines from cold and heat while helping the roots with drainage.  Beaucastel has about 130 hectares of land, and 100 of them are planted with vines.  Château Beaucastel has plantings of all 13 varietals allowed by the AOC law in the Southern Rhône, including Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccarese, Counoise, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourblenc and Roussanne.  Though Grenache runs the show here, Château de Beaucastel is known for using a sizable amount of Mourvèdre in their wines.  The grapes are all harvested by hand prior to being vinified in temperature controlled tanks and aged in oak.  The wine is then aged in oak barrels for one year prior to being bottled and released.
 
What makes Château de Beaucastel unique is the sizable portions of Mourvedre in each vintage. Mourvedre is a deeply complex grape, with tremendous ageing potential and plenty of smoky and spicy characteristics.  The resulting wine is a complex one, with tremendous ageing potential.  

"As I stated last year, there is no Hommage a Jacques Perrin in 2006, but Beaucastel’s 2006 Châteauneuf du Pape is performing even better from bottle than it did last year. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet perfume of black truffles, camphor, earth, incense, new saddle leather, and loads of peppery, blackberry, and herb-infused, meaty, black cherry fruit. Deep, full-bodied, and dense, with sweet tannin, this explosively rich Châteauneuf is a stronger effort than the 2005, 2004, or 2003. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.

Beaucastel and its subsidiary wines marketed under the Perrin et Fils moniker are consistently among the bright shining stars of France. I have been visiting this estate for nearly thirty years, and over that time I have seen all the elements of what makes wines great – an incredible respect for the vineyards, a conscientious, uncompromising work ethic, and extraordinary passion for gentle handling of fruit from their sites. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin seem to be gradually inching closer to retirement as their sons take more and more of a front row seat in the running of this outstanding estate. This is a marvelous portfolio of wines, from the extraordinary values, to the top-end world classics. While one could say this is as traditionally run estate as can be found in western Europe, the Perrins are remarkably flexible if they sense that quality can be improved. Quality rises dramatically with the Perrin et Fils cuvees. The Cotes du Rhone Reserve wines are produced primarily from the estate vineyards at Grand Prebois and Vinsobres, with some purchased fruit from such Cotes du Rhone appellations as St.-Gervais. Marc Perrin, who is responsible for winemaking at Perrin et Fils, seems to go from strength to strength with this line of wines, which includes negociant bottlings as well as some from estate vineyards in Vinsobres." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (10/29/2008, Issue 179), Ratings: 95, Drink: 2012-2028

''A fantastic wine, the 2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape fleshes out with air and displays deep, earthy aromatics of dark fruit, roasted meat, graphite, mushroom and old wood. In the mouth, the wine displays a medium to full bodied, structured personality to go with a fantastic texture, concentrated fruit and a long finish. If drinking anytime soon this needs plenty of air.'' Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur (8/01/2009) Ratings: 94+ Drink: 2009-2029