"... yet another outstanding red Beaucastel with the potential to match or even outperform the delicious 2022." - Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous
One of the most anticipated Rhône releases in any vintage is Beaucastel's reference-point Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the 97-point 2023 delivers everything we expect from this iconic estate. The warm, dry growing season provided optimal conditions for all the estate's varietals to excel and the finished wine is classic Beaucastel in all respects. Jeb Dunnuck notes, "It has the purity, medium to full-bodied richness, and ripe, yet still fresh and lively style of the vintage and brings plenty of mid-palate depth, sweet tannins, and a great finish." The year saw a higher-than-usual Mourvedre content in the blend, so you can count on this rendition to cruise in the cellar, but the freshness and vibrancy of the Grenache components (with help of the highly aromatic Terret Nori, Vaccarese, and Muscardin) make it a true charmer right out of the gate. James Suckling's Rhône critic Stuart Pigott declares it "full-bodied but with a lightness of touch. Then the power and stony intensity pour over you in a giant wave. The freshness is extraordinary for this hot and dry vintage." In other words, one of France's leading wine estates hit another home run, and collectors can add this superb rendition to their cellars for a razor-sharp price.
While you wait for the Châteauneuf to come around, you can also stock up on the 2023 Coudoulet de Beaucastel. Reflecting its well-earned reputation as "the Baby Beaucastel," the 2023 Coudoulet de Beaucastel is a solidly built, age-worthy Côtes-du-Rhône that takes the category a step up in terms of quality, character, and pedigree – the Coudoulet vines lie just on the "wrong side" of the road from Beaucastel's official Châteauneuf parcels, so the moniker isn't just a trope. Soils, micro-climates, and vine heritage are all similar, so the Coudoulet wine always offers glimpses of its world-class terroir. This JS93 "solid, focused, juicy and poised wine" is picture-perfect introduction to the vintage at Beaucastel.
Finally, as icing on the cake, serious collectors shouldn't miss a chance to add a monumental vintage of the legendary Hommage à Jacques Perrin to their cellars at unbeatable pricing. The 2022 Hommage is a triple 98-point masterpiece and collectible cornerstone that sets the bar for the appellation and the vintage. "Combining mind-boggling intensity with impressive verticality, the full-bodied 2022 is one of the wines of the vintage," notes Nicolas Greinacher of Vinous. Yohan Castaing's own 98-point Wine Advocate review likewise calls it "a spectacular and immense wine ... [and] a must-have for collectors and enthusiasts." With the amply seductive style of the vintage, it's also likely to give off serious fireworks right now if you're the impatient type. Either way, this is a no-brainer opportunity for anyone who's serious about the world's greatest collectible wines.
At every stage of the hierarchy and every price tier, Beaucastel proves its mettle time and time again, and these latest releases are unequivocal gems for any fan of Southern Rhône's best wines.
The 2022 Hommage à Jacques Perrin from Château de Beaucastel is a spectacular and immense wine, representing a great evolution of this cuvée toward increased finesse and precision over the years. It exhibits a complex, elegant bouquet of mulberries, lilac, smoke, spices, wild strawberries and dark cherries. Full-bodied, concentrated and dense, it delivers multidimensional depth at its core, controlled power and structured but velvety tannins with precise, seamless texture, culminating in a long, mineral, penetrating finish. This blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 10% Counoise is a testament to its perfect adaptation to climate change. It is a must-have for collectors and enthusiasts.
98+ points, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate (Sep 2024)
Lastly, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is another 2022 that has some resemblance to this estate’s 2009. It just screams Mourvèdre with its wild aromatics of bloody red and blue fruits, herbes de Provence, rare meat, and peppery, spicy nuances. These all carry to a full-bodied yet still balanced, elegant 2022 that stays focused and precise on the palate, with building tannins and a salty finish that makes you salivate. I know there's a tendency to hide these away and think that they're never ready to drink, but they offer incredible pleasure with just short-term cellaring, and this will be no exception.
98 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Oct 2024)
A focused, dense, scented and well-structured Chateau de Beaucastel. The nose shows aromas of wild berries, dried thyme, Mediterranean herbs, warm earth and baking spices. It’s medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins. Solid structure at this stage, but all in control. Driven, textural and layered. There is a seductive stream of berries at the center and plenty of verve, with herbs and spices mingling harmoniously. Long finish. Best from 2027.
98 points, James Suckling (Sep 2024)
Notes of cooked blueberries and liquorice on the nose. This has great palate weight and density, it’s so savoury. The tannins are really searching, and the acidity is driving. A big tannic seat, and a lovely sense of vibrancy and freshness to the fruit. This has enormous presence, it's a big, powerful, dense vintage of Hommage that will age for a very long time. Around 60% of the blend comes from old-vine Mourvèdre from the Courrieux vineyard. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down.
98 points, Matt Walls, Decanter (Sep 2023)
The stunning 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin comes alive with precise notes of sandalwood, licorice, dried herbs, crushed violets, blackberry jam and wild strawberry. Peppery subtleties add further complexity. Combining mind-boggling intensity with impressive verticality, the full-bodied 2022 is one of the wines of the vintage. Closing with a refined finish that lingers for over two minutes, readers should ideally wait to approach this outstanding Hommage until at least 2032.
97 points, Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous (Nov 2024)
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