Today we're going to do a head to head of one of the most notable producers in Rhone Valley's very historic and also very alluring (and sexy as of recent years) Chateauneuf du Pape (or CdP for short) region - Famille Perrin's Chateau de Beaucastel!

As a matter of quick introduction, Chateauneuf du Pape, in southeastern France (towards the southern tail end of the Burgundy region), was actually France's first wine AOC-designated region. As you might have already guessed from the name, the region had gained much attention as a result of it having been the home of a successive series of seven Popes, across seven decades.

The seven Popes of Avignon, whom also really loved wine, and incidentally made the first AOC.

This period was known as the Avignon Papacy, and began with the relocation of Pope Clement V to the region in 1309, as a result of a battle between the papacy and the French King Philip IV. The King had wanted a French Pope, and hence forced the election of Pope Clement V, however the new Pope did not want to move to Rome and instead had the papacy move to Avignon, France. Thus Chateauneuf du Pape is translated as "The Pope's new castle"! 

And of course those seven Popes loved Burgundy wines, and thus during their stay at Avignon would promote wine growing in the area, which was thus called Vin du Pape or "The Pope's Wine".

The Chateauneuf du Pape coat of arms - keys below the crown represents estate grown grapes, whereas keys above the crown implies grapes purchased from other growers.

Given possibly having the best marketing affiliation possible in the Old World, there was of course much demand for the wines of Chateauneuf du Pape. This in turn led to widespread wine fraud, and thus the creation of the AOC designation. With the AOC designation - basically rules and standards as to how the wine must be produced in order to qualify for using the region's name as part of its branding (especially on its label) - the idea was to uphold quality of the region's wines. Amusingly some of the early regulations included vineyards only being valid if the land was sufficiently humid for lavender and thyme to grow - and then of course there were more obvious ones such as grape varieties permitted, yields and also minimum alcoholic proof. This eventually became applied across France's winemaking regions, with over 360 AOC-recognised regions today! 

Chateau de Beaucastel.

So what about Chateau de Beaucastel? The 130 hectare estate stretches 75 hectares across said Chateauneuf du Pape's AOC, and 25 hectares crossing over into the broader Cotes du Rhone AOC, with the remaining 30 hectares farmed with various crops on rotation, all of which in accordance to organic practices and in promotion of biodiversity. It traces its origins as far back as the mid-16th century, to a Pierre de Beaucastel - hence the name - upon which was a barn at the time. The estate would pass from one hand to another, often as a result of inheritance or a sale. It would unfortunately be struck by phylloxera in the 19th century, which would devastate most of France's vineyards, including of which de Beaucastel's.

The estate's current form would only take shape when in the early 1900's a Pierre Tramier had taken over and rebuilt the vineyards. His son-in-law Pierre Perrin would eventually take over, and under his astute leadership, would expand and grow in wine quality and reputation. Today the estate is managed by the third generation of the Perrin family, Jean Pierre Perrin and Francois Perrin.

Mourvedre grapes are a hallmark of Chateauneuf du Pape wines.

In terms of winemaking, the first thing to note is that the estate's terroir is marked by sandstone covered by alpine alluvium, along with a climate that is of low rainfall, bountiful sunshine and big temperature swings across the year. The estate grows a staggering 13 grape varieties - Grenache and Cinsault for warmth, colour and roundedness; Mourvedre, Syrah, Vaccarese and Muscardin, for structure, ageing ability and colour; Counoise and Picpoul for body, freshness and aroma; with Terret Noir, Clairette, Picardan, Bourboulenc and Roussanne making up the remaining five varieties. One of the most outstanding aspects about Ch. de Beaucastel is its Brettanomyces barnyard character - the sort you associate with funky natural wines or lambic and wild beers - which is the result of the high use of Mourvedre grapes!

During harvest, the grapes are handpicked, sorted at the cellar, de-stemmed completely, and the vinified separately by each varietal in traditional temperature-controlled vats for 15 days, after which it is aged in wood. The blending is subsequently done, where upon the wines are stocked in oak barrels to age for 1 year and then bottled, after which it is kept at the Chateau in bottles for another year before being released. 

Today we're going to try two vintages of Ch. de Beaucastel's reds - the 2020 and 2009!

Let's go!

Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 2020, Famille Perrin, Chateauneuf du Pape - Review

Said by the winemaker to be a vintage of really good climatic conditions that was optimal for de Beaucastel's quality, 2020 wasn't as hot as the previous year, and was very windy throughout with little rain. Spring brought warm sunshine, and flowering went ahead healthily. The harvest was an early one, nevertheless each plot was said to be harvested at perfect maturity producing good alcohol levels, acidity and balance.

The 2020 vintage is made with 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 5% Cinsault, and 10% across Vaccarese, Terret Noire, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc and Roussanne.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Violet, Purple

Aroma: Starts off with a really deep earthiness of soil and tobacco leaves. There's some animal hide in the mix giving a barnyard quality. Light hits of very concentrated raspberry jam. The fruit is buried under the earthy and barnyard notes.

Taste: Superb richness, medium-bodied, big red fruit forwardness of raspberry concentrate and raspberry paste. It's fuller in flavour, with super fine tannins that are almost phantom and yet the focused fruit notes seem to be kept in place. There's a slight grittiness of coffee grounds that give it a more textural complexity.

Finish: More earthiness by way of cloves and tobacco leaves - very aromatic still. Softer notes of blackcurrant cordial into the finish.

My Thoughts

This takes a darker profile of concentrated fruit and aromatic earthiness, with good richness and depth. Although the tannins are so fine that they're barely noticeable, it does still feel as though there's more structure here holding the fruit in place. In that sense, it conveys quite abit of elegance and control, but required some time to open up and develop. 

Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 2009, Famille Perrin, Chateauneuf du Pape - Review

We come to the much more well-aged 2009 vintage - marked by high temperatures and big swings to relative coolness at night time, this one's said to have produced fruit with good acidity and supple tannins.

The 2009 vintage is made with 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Counoise, 10% Syrah, 5% Cinsault and 15% across Vaccarese, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: Big earthiness and dark fruit here! Tobacco leaves encasing blackcurrants, raspberry, both cordial and freshly crushed fruit. Still with that light barnyard animal hide aroma. It's soft but pretty aromatic.

Taste: Good richness here, this feels a touch fuller, it's earth and berries mixed together. Raspberry and cranberry jams, along with a light spiciness of red chilli. There's a touch of soil. It leans sweeter here, with the fruit jams surpassing the structure.

Finish: The raspberries and cranberries persist, here with some clove and dried thyme. Light tannins emerge.

My Thoughts

This started off strong with a good integration and bouquet on the nose. Onto the palate, it first displayed good richness and fullness of flavour, however into the finish it began to surpass its structure and came across rather jammy and sloshed about quite abit. I did find the 2009 vintage to be fuller and richer, with more complexity and boldness in flavour, however, I think it could needed more structure to hold it together.

In comparison to the 2020, I found the 2020 to be alittle less forward, but it did win out in terms of having a better structure and balance.