Coudoulet de Beaucastel White 2020

Coudoulet de Beaucastel White 2020

Côtes du Rhône White

• Score : 92/100 James Suckling
• Cellaring potential: Can be drunk now.
• Tasting note in 2022: "The freshness of the nose makes me think of spring flowers, but on the palate it's fuller and richer than the nose suggests. Broad spectrum of stone fruit flavors, from white peach to mirabelle plum, plus some candied citrus. A pronounced freshness in the long, silky finish. Made from organically grown grapes. Drink now."

How did the 2020 vintage turn out?

"Favored by very good weather conditions, 2020 was a generous year, both in quality and quantity. Not as hot as 2019, this year was very windy, throughout the vegetative cycle, with little rainfall. After a fairly mild winter (only one episode of frost on the night of March 24-25, but only the earliest plots were slightly affected), the spring was radiant, quite warm and very windy, which allowed the soils to remain cool. Flowering started on May 18, in very healthy conditions. The good weather continued in June, July and August, with heat but lower temperatures than in 2019, cool and humid nights and that wind that continues to blow, preserving the freshness of the vines and maintaining a perfect sanitary quality of the grapes. The harvest, quite early, started in these very good conditions on August 26 with the white Côtes-du-Rhône and continued until the end of September with the Mourvèdre. The month of September, hot at the beginning and then more temperate, offered idyllic harvesting conditions and allowed each plot to be picked at perfect maturity.  The harvest is very healthy with nice juicy and ripe grapes, reasonable alcohol levels, good acidity and already a good balance. Yields are slightly higher than 2019 and the first tastings suggest a very nice vintage." Beaucastel Estate Opinion

• Description: The 30-hectare vineyard of Coudoulet de Beaucastel is located just east of the Beaucastel vineyard, on the other side of the A7 freeway. For reasons that will become obvious, it is often considered the baby of Beaucastel. When we look at the soil of Coudoulet, we find that there are many similarities with that of Beaucastel. It is composed of Miocene marine molasses covered by an alpine diluvium. This cover of rolled pebbles contributes a lot to the Beaucastel wines: it stores the intense heat of the Mediterranean sun during the day and slowly restores it to the vines at night. This allows a good start for the vines in the spring.
• Location: Côtes du Rhône. Between Orange and Avignon, east of the Château de Beaucastel vineyard. The white Coudoulet de Beaucastel is a 3 hectare vineyard.
• Terroir : Miocene marine molasses covered by an alpine diluvium (rolled pebbles).
• Elaboration: Hand-picking, sorting of the harvest, collection in crates, pneumatic pressing, settling and fermentation for a part in oak pieces and for a part in stainless steel tanks during 8 months. Blending and bottling, without passing at low temperature.

Grape varieties:

- Bourboulenc : 30%.

- Marsanne : 30%.

- Viognier : 30%.

- Clairette: 10% 

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