Château de Beaucastel - Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

A beautiful array of aromas, with a complex flavor profile resulting from the blend—which includes a significant proportion of Mourvèdre—featuring notes of red berries; elegant, fresh, and relatively low in alcohol.

About the estate:

Since 1909, Beaucastel has been owned by the Perrin family. Today, it is run by Jean-Pierre and François, the sons of Jacques Perrin, alongside Cécile, Marc, Pierre, Thomas, Charles, Mathieu, and César—the fifth generation. In other words: a family affair! Situated on 100 hectares of rounded pebble soil, including 30 hectares in the Côtes du Rhône (Coudoulet de Beaucastel), Château Beaucastel produces four wines. For whites, there is a classic cuvée dominated by Roussanne, and the famous Roussanne-Vieilles-Vignes cuvée. For the reds, Mourvèdre plays a major role, accounting for nearly a third of the vineyards—as much as Grenache. This unusual proportion was strategic in 2018 and helped achieve the finesse and freshness characteristic of Beaucastel. This is undoubtedly one of the finest wine estates in France, with, in our view, an added purity in recent years.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape offers a soft, spicy bouquet of black cherry, plum, truffle, leather, and forest floor. Produced from tiny yields (which were down 50% from 2010), this medium-bodied 2011 has a magnificent texture and boasts solid depth on the mid-palate, tremendous fruit purity, and ripe tannins. Relatively accessible and enjoyable even now, it should nevertheless age gracefully for 15 to 20 years. Drink 2015–2031.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The red Beaucastel gives the impression that the tannins have been refined to be more supple and smooth. Without losing the structured character that defines the estate’s wines, the edges seem more rounded. The tannins are riper and more approachable. It’s already a pleasure to drink, but be warned: behind this beautiful richness, power is never far away, and this wine will continue to age gracefully for at least twenty years.

About the estate:

With its unique terroir of rounded pebbles, Château de Beaucastel is one of the icons of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This estate can boast of being one of the few to use all thirteen authorized grape varieties in the production of its red wine. A wine that is consistently of very high quality, though it faces competition from vintages that have shaken up the appellation’s hierarchy. Certainly, the extremely rare and remarkable Hommage à Jacques Perrin cuvée, made predominantly from Mourvèdre and produced only in great vintages, remains a benchmark, as does the sumptuous Roussanne Vieilles Vignes white, which reveals its full potential with age. Under the Perrin family’s capable leadership, Château de Beaucastel remains a benchmark for wines from southern France, a status it must now share with other estates that have reached, or even surpassed, its level.