Château de Beaucastel 2009

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.  

''The 2009 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape had just been bottled at the time of the 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.'' Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur (9/25/2011) Ratings: 96 

"The 2009 Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape is reminiscent of their brilliant 1985. It will be one of the rare Beaucastels that is drinkable upon release. Made from this estate’s classic blend, it possesses soft tannins as well as a silky, open-knit seductiveness, a dense plum/purple color 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.

Brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin as well as their four sons, Thomas, Marc, Pierre and Mathieu, have quickly become the dominate wine producers of the entire southern Rhone Valley. They have expanded their operation even further by partnering with the Jaboulets. Now having over 1,200 acres in vine and extensive contracts, this is a high quality locomotive, great news for consumers seeking a range of top quality red and white wines in all price ranges. The Perrins’ greatest success is undeniably their enormous quantities of high quality, inexpensive wines called La Vieille Ferme, a white from the Cotes du Luberon and a red from the Cotes du Ventoux. The Perrins are now the top producers of wines from the cool climate southern Rhone appellation of Vinsobres, located in the northern sector of the region and meaning “sober wine.” In 2008, the Perrins purchased one of the better estates in Gigondas, Clos des Tourelles, a 25 acre property located at the southern end of the village from which they make two cuvees. True stars in the Perrin portfolio are the white and red Cotes du Rhone from their estate called Coudoulet which is adjacent to the appellation of Châteauneuf du Pape. As longtime readers know, Château de Beaucastel makes two of the great white wines of the southern Rhone, although in Châteauneuf du Pape the rather dramatic amelioration of quality that has taken place with white winemaking has given them more competition than they had a decade ago." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (10/31/2011, Issue 197), Ratings: 94, Drink: 2011-2036