2017 Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Coudoulet de Beaucastel, Famille Perrin

Chateau de Beaucastel

Château de Beaucastel is one of the most consistently impressive properties in the south of France and a worthy flag-bearer for its famous appellation. The main challenge of the 2019 vintage was the deluge of rain at the start of the season and the relative drought which followed. However, the Perrin family’s largely organic and biodynamic approach coupled with a very high average vine age meant they were more able to balance the yo-yo effects of the seasons. While we offered their full range upon release back in November 2020, we kept a little of two wines back to include alongside our wider Rhône offering. The 2019s are true to the vintage, individual terroirs and the Perrin/Beaucastel traditions, offering complexity alongside balance and structure.

Southern Rhône Blend

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.