Château de Beaucastel 2018

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.  

"At the moment, Beaucastel's 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape bucks the vintage trend toward open, expressive wines, seeming a bit closed on the nose and tight on the palate. It also shows a bit more depth and tannin than many of its peers. A blend of 30% each Grenache and Mourvèdre, with 15% Syrah, 10% Counoise and smaller amounts of other permitted varieties (including some white grapes), it delivers hints of mixed red berries and garrigue, a medium to full-bodied feel in the mouth, some dusty tannins and a long, mouthwatering finish. Give it another couple of years to soften and reopen, then drink it over the next decade and a half.

When I tasted with Marc Perrin back in 2019, he was insistent that 2018 was a terrific vintage, despite crop losses early in the season. Based on the performance of Beaucastel's finished wines, his assessment is understandable. The 2018s here are highly successful, showing ample concentration, complexity and length allied to considerable freshness. Yields in some parcels were as low as eight hectoliters per hectare, but the wines aren't jammy or overly tannic—although they are definitely structured to age." - Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate (12/30/2020), Ratings: 95+, Drink: 2022-2037

''Moving to the reds, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape showed nicely with a deep ruby/purple color as well as classic Beaucastel aromas and flavors of darker currents, blueberries, smoked meats, black licorice and roasted herbs. With medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, clean, elegant texture, sweet tannins, and a great finish, this seamless, elegant Beaucastel will be approachable in its youth, yet still have 20+ years of prime drinking.'' Jeb Dunnuck, Southern Rhône: The Charming, Provençal 2018s and the More Concentrated, Classic 2019s, (10/6/2020) Ratings: 94 Drink: 2020-2038