Château de Beaucastel’s 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge continues the estate’s consistent delivery of one of the Southern Rhône’s most distinguished and age-worthy red wines from biodynamically farmed vineyards on the appellation’s ancient galets roulés plateau. The 2021 Southern Rhône growing season was characterised by dry conditions and moderate heat, producing wines of good concentration and aromatic character that the wine-searcher aggregate across all approved publications confirms at 94/100 for this vintage. The Beaucastel blend, dominated by Mourvèdre and Grenache with contributions from all thirteen permitted Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties, provides a wine of distinctive structural depth and aromatic complexity that requires more patience than many Châteauneuf expressions but develops exceptional complexity over a decade or more in the cellar.

The Perrin family’s biodynamic farming at Beaucastel, practised consistently since the 1960s and one of the earliest and most committed biodynamic programmes among any major Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate, provides the root system depth, organic matter richness and natural soil vitality that underpin the estate’s wines’ consistent character and ageing potential across contrasting vintages. The 2021’s combination of moderate warmth and the estate’s naturally deep-rooted vine character should produce a wine of restraint and mineral character that contrasts with the more opulent 2022 offered elsewhere in this catalogue, providing useful comparative context for those who follow the Beaucastel’s vintage-by-vintage development across multiple releases.

Château de Beaucastel rouge in any vintage is one of the benchmark wines of the Southern Rhône, and the 2021’s combination of good aggregate critical approval and the estate’s legendary consistency provides the collector with a reliable and well-provisioned Châteauneuf-du-Pape of considerable ageing potential and genuine house character.

Deep ruby with a complex and structured nose of dark cherry, wild berry, garrigue, black pepper, liquorice, dried herb and the earthy mineral depth of the estate’s ancient galets roulés terroir. Full-bodied with structured tannins, excellent natural acidity and a long, spiced, herb-inflected finish of genuine Beaucastel character and ageing authority. Best from 2027 through 2048.

Coming in at 14% alcohol, the 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Counoise, 5% Syrah, 5% Cinsaut and other permitted varieties. The result is magnificent, wafting from the glass with fragrant aromas of juicy red fruits mingling with hints of black cherry, mint, garrigue and a pinch of white pepper. Full-bodied and layered, ever-so-velvety tannins wrap this elegant-to-the-core polished red, before concluding with a bright finish. - Vinous