The result of all the efforts and innovations of three generations of the Perrin family is evident when one has the pleasure of tasting a good vintage of Château de Beaucastel at its peak. If one word could describe the red wines of Beaucastel it would be ”pure”: because these wines are the natural expression of the place and the grapes from which they come.

In this case the vineyard is a patchwork of the 13 permitted grape varieties It covers 70 hectares in all. The soil is the same porous, aerated blanket of Alpine diluvium (with rounded stones) over a base of Miocene marine limestone that exists elsewhere on the estate. The vines are on average 50 years old and yields are never more than 30 hectolitres per hectare and often much less. This is a vibrant and healthy vineyard due to years of organic cultivation.

Rating

Wine Spectator 96 points (Apr 30 2008) Really dense and locked up now, this is packed with dark fig, currant and blackberry fruit shrouded by layers of tar, hot stone, bittersweet licorice and espresso. The long, dense finish has a great tug of iron buried within it. Best from 2011 through 2030. 15,000 cases made. –JM #8 in Wine Spectator’s 2008 Top 100 List  Top 100 WS 100 points The 2005 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape is a wine that probably needs 7-10 years of bottle age. Possibly the most backward and closed Beaucastel made since the 1995, the wine has very high tannins, seems totally closed aromatically, but in the mouth is a weighty wine exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color and tight aromatics consisting of new saddle leather, porcini, meat juices, licorice, tar, and black fruits. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, very tannic, and structured in a dramatically masculine, ageworthy style. This is one for the younger generation or those with considerable patience. I can’t see it being close to drinkable before 2014 and lasting up to 30 or more years. Score: 94. —Robert Parker, October 2007.

Wine maker notes

The result of all the efforts and innovations of three generations of the Perrin family is evident when one has the pleasure of tasting a good vintage of Château de Beaucastel at its peak. If one word could describe the red wines of Beaucastel it would be ”pure”: because these wines are the natural expression of the place and the grapes from which they come. In this case the vineyard is a patchwork of the 13 permitted grape varieties It covers 70 hectares in all. The soil is the same porous, aerated blanket of Alpine diluvium (with rounded stones) over a base of Miocene marine limestone that exists elsewhere on the estate. The vines are on average 50 years old and yields are never more than 30 hectolitres per hectare and often much less. This is a vibrant and healthy vineyard due to years of organic cultivation.