2022 Côtes du Rhône Blanc, Coudoulet de Beaucastel, Famille Perrin
Critics reviews
A blend of Viognier, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc. Cask sample.
The nose is fresh. The palate has peach, apricot, pear, and honey notes. Sweet fruit on the rich, layered palate borders on tropical. Rich, layered, big, attractive, and opulent.
Drink 2025 - 2032
Alistair Cooper MW, JancisRobinson.com (November 2023)
Bottled in May of 2023, the 2022 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel Blanc offers lots of up-front honeyed lemon, quince, and dried herb notes in a pure, medium-bodied, richer style that brings plenty of texture while staying pure and nicely balanced.
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (October 2023)
The 2022 Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc Coudoulet de Beaucastel unfurls with delicate blossom, yellow apple and lemon flesh aromas. Neatly balanced by fresh acidity, the 2022 offers good focus and closes with a sapid finish.
Drink 2024 - 2027
Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous.com (June 2024)
About this WINE
Chateau de Beaucastel
The Perrin family of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are one of the Rhône Valley’s greatest vineyard owners. With over 200 hectares of top level, prime vineyards at their fingertips, they have the terroir and skill required to produce some of the region’s finest wines.
The estate traces its history back to a plot of Coudoulet vines bought by Pierre de Beaucastel in 1549. The estate was transferred into the Perrin family in 1909 through marriage, where it remains firmly to this day. Despite being one of the old guards of the region, they are also one of the most progressive estates. They were one of the first converts to organic and biodynamic faming in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which they adopted in 1950 and 1974 respectively.
César Perrin, winemaker at Beaucastel, is very happy with his 2021s. He tells of a cool and long growing season producing wines which are bright, fresh and lower in alcohol than has become the norm in recent years. Their Syrah vines were more heavily impacted by the Spring frosts, so a higher percentage of Mourvèdre - already signature of the Perrin’s style - went into the Beaucastel red than usual (40%, whereas the norm is nearer 30%). This helps bolster the dark fruit profile of the wine, as well as ensuring a balanced tannin structure.
We offered the Perrin’s full range of wines upon release in October last year, though we held back a small amount of their two flagship Château de Beaucastel wines so we could offer them to anyone who missed out.
Côtes du Rhône Villages
A clear step up from basic Côtes du Rhône in terms of both quality and price, the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation covers an area of 5,700 hectares entirely within the Southern Rhône. About 15 percent of the size of its generic counterpart, it offers mostly excellent, very good value wines from all three hues that are more serious, concentrated and interesting.
Red wines dominate, made up of a minimum 50 percent Grenache, at least 20 percent Syrah and Mourvèdre, and no more than 20 percent from 10 other named varieties. Out of 95 communes that are eligible to use the Villages name, the finest 18 of them have the right to append their village name, as long as the wine is exclusively from that commune. The classification is quite fluid though, with Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and Beaumes de Venise and Vinsobres and Rasteau having been upgraded to AOC status, and other villages like Massif d’Uchaux and Plan de Dieu being added.
Best enjoyed from two to 10 years of age, the best wines probably come from Cairanne and Sablet, but all are well worth a look. The whites are rapidly improving and are delicious in their first three years. Rosé wines are made from the same cépage as the reds and are usually very good.
Recommended Producers: Chapoton, Domaine Cros de la Mûre, La Soumade
White Rhône Blend
With the exception of the wines from Condrieu and Château-Grillet virtually all Rhône Valley whites are made from blends.
In the north, the white wines of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, and St-Péray are produced from blends of Marsanne and Roussanne. Generally Marsanne is the dominant partner and it lends colour, body and weight to the blend, as well as richly scented fruit. Roussanne, a notoriously low yielder and pernickety to grow, produces intensely aromatic wines which contribute bouquet, delicacy and finesse to the blend.
Until about 15 years ago there was very little interest in southern Rhône whites as it was widely believed that the combination of dull non aromatic grapes and the baking summer heat meant quality wine production was nigh impossible. Since then the quality has improved markedly through the introduction of cool fermentation techniques and increased plantings of northern Rhône white grapes.
The base of many blends is still Grenache Blanc, a widely planted variety producing fresh wines with apple-like fruits, often with hints of aniseed. Ugni Blanc is still found in many blends, as is Clairette though their general lack of character and definition has led to a reduction in plantings. The future for southern Rhône whites appears to lie with Roussanne, Marsanne, and, increasingly, Viognier.
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Description
The 2022 Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc Coudoulet de Beaucastel unfurls with delicate blossom, yellow apple and lemon flesh aromas. Neatly balanced by fresh acidity, the 2022 offers good focus and closes with a sapid finish.
Drink 2024 - 2027
Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous.com (June 2024)
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