Château de Beaucastel - Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011

Bettane & Desseauve

About wine:

Beautiful aromatic diversity, complex color palette given by the grape variety with a strong minority of Mourvèdre, playing on all red fruits, elegant, fresh, relatively moderate in alcohol.

About the estate:

Since 1909, Beaucastel has been owned by the Perrin family, now under the management of Jean-Pierre and François, the sons of Jacques Perrin, accompanied by Cécile, Marc, Pierre, Thomas, Charles, Mathieu, and César, the fifth generation. In other words, it's a family affair! Located on 100 hectares of rounded pebbles, including 30 hectares in Côtes du Rhône (Coudoulet de Beaucastel), Château Beaucastel produces four wines. In white, a classic cuvée dominated by Roussanne, and the famous Roussanne-Vieilles-Vignes cuvée. In red, Mourvèdre plays a major role, accounting for nearly a third of the plantings, as much as Grenache. This unusual proportion was strategic in 2018 and allowed Beaucastel to achieve its characteristic finesse and freshness. This is undoubtedly one of the finest wine estates in France, with, in our opinion, an added purity in recent years.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

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

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

About wine:

The Beaucastel red gives the impression that the tannins have been worked with greater flexibility and softness. Without losing the square shape that characterizes the estate's wines, the angles seem more rounded. The tannins are riper and more pleasant. The pleasure is already there, but beware, because behind this beautiful richness, the power is never far away and this wine will continue to develop for at least twenty years.

About the estate:

With its unique terroir of rounded pebbles, Château de Beaucastel is one of the emblems of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This estate can boast of being one of the few to use all thirteen authorized grape varieties to produce its red wine. The wine is consistently of a very high standard, but faces competition from other vintages that have shaken up the appellation's hierarchy. Of course, the extremely rare and remarkable Hommage à Jacques Perrin vintage, made predominantly from Mourvèdre and produced only in great years, remains a benchmark, as does the sumptuous Roussanne Vieilles Vignes white, which reveals itself over time. Under the efficient management of the Perrin family, Château de Beaucastel remains a benchmark for wines from the south of France, a status it now shares with other estates that have reached or even surpassed its level.