Château de Beaucastel 2018 - Jéroboam

Château de Beaucastel 2018 - Jéroboam

Chateauneuf du pape - Famille Perrin

 

(95 - 97)/100 Parker

Maturity : 2021 - 2037

Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski the 30th Aug 2019 : "Another in a string of top vintages, Beaucastel's 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape was produced from Grenache yields of only eight hectoliters per hectare ("normal" is about 28 hectoliters per hectare, according to Marc Perrin). The final blend I was shown is almost candied in its fruity intensity of raspberries and cherries, yet it has a potent underpinning of more savory elements, like tapenade, grilled meat and dried spices. Full-bodied, with fine, silky tannins, this shows tremendous length, reverberating with hints of crushed stone on the finish."

The 2018 vintage: It is characterized by exceptional climatic conditions. The flo-raison is thus taking place in the best conditions, with a historically abundant output of grapes. A few rainy episodes at the end of spring complicate things a little with an attack of mildew, but the fine weather then settles in until the harvest, which takes place in idyllic conditions. The wines look magnificent.

Description: Château de Beaucastel has long been considered one of the greatest wines of France and is unanimously renowned for its balance, elegance and ability to age. Beaucastel has an extraordinary terroir at the northern tip of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, very exposed to the Mistral wind. The thirteen grape varieties of the appellation have been cultivated organically there since the 1960s.

Location : Châteauneuf-du-Pape, between Orange and Avignon, the red Château de Beaucastel is a 70 hectare vineyard.

Terroir : The Château de Beaucastel has about 110 hectares in a single block in the north of the appellation. The terroir is the archetype of the great terroirs of Châteauneuf: pebbles on the surface, clay, sand and limestone in depth. The vines are old and the biological culture practiced for more than 50 years has allowed their roots to plunge deep. Beaucastel cultivates the thirteen grape varieties authorized by the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation.

Elaboration : Each grape variety is picked separately by hand. Vinification is done in wooden truncated cone vats for the reducing varieties (syrah, mourvèdre) and in traditional concrete and enamelled stoneware vats for the oxidative varieties (all others). At the end of the malolactic fermentation, the Perrin family blends the different grape varieties. The wine is then aged in oak barrels for a year before being bottled.

Grape varieties :

- Grenache : 30%.

- Mourvèdre : 30%.

- Syrah : 15%.

- Counoise : 10%.

- Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne: 10%.

- Cinsault: 5%.