Beaucastel

As soon as I learned as I was going to France I made it clear there were two places I wanted to visit: Krug and Beaucastel. While both wineries are renowned for their hospitality, they are also not the easiest places to get into. Simply put, if both were to welcome every visitor who showed up at their doors they would have no time to make wine, and if they offered tastings to those visitors they would have no wine to sell. Fortunately people in the wine industry arranged for me to visit both of these famous estates. Beaucastel was my last visit in the Rhone Valley but it was also my most anticipated and I parked my car and walked into the winery with great expectation.

When it comes to Southern Rhone wineries few names carry the weight of Chateau de Beaucastel. This winery dates back almost 500 years and has a reputation that is virtually unmatched. Some (including Robert Parker) have pointed out that Beaucastel has one of the largest estates in Chateauneuf du Pape and has always had a strong presence in America thanks to the importer Vineyard Brands. These two arguments both have some substance and have contributed to the success of Beaucastel, but the main reason Beaucastel has achieved the standing it has is because the wine is outstanding. The production and marketing may have offered it an advantage at certain, but the wine has always been amongst the best in the world. In Robert Parker’s most recent guide to Rhone wine producers three of the four Chateauneuf wines from Beaucastel are listed as “Outstanding” (the highest rating), including the only white wine to get that rating and the fourth wine is listed as “Excellent” (the second highest rating).

Beaucastel has two major defining characteristics: the wines rely heavily on Mourvedre as opposed to most Chateauneuf which is predominantly Grenache, and Beaucastel prides itself on using all of the permitted varietials in the appellation (see below). The winery sits in the middle of the 173 acres of vineyards and upon walking in the front door was clear I was in a facility unlike anything I had yet visited. Up until now I had really just visited small wineries, in some cases just simple farmhouses. Beaucastel is much more imposing (Beaucastel also houses the offices for Domaine Perrin, the large-scale project that produces wines from throughout the Southern Rhone, all of which are worth seeking out).

Out guide was a gentleman named Farbrice, who along with being fluent in English was great to talk because he had worked as a sommelier in the US prior to coming to Beaucastel. He was able to offer some really helpful perspectives. I’m not sure what Farbrice’s title at Beaucastel, but he is outstanding at giving tours. Along with being upbeat and energetic he is full of great analogies and does a great job of explaining the process that takes place and how Beaucastel views their land and their wine. The one downside to the whole visit was I was with another small group and the physical condition of one of our group kept us from really going out into the vineyards, but it was still a great visit.

There are plenty of things I took away from the visit, but perhaps most important was the true devotion to organic farming at Beaucastel. Many places I visited during my trip took great pride in their environmentally friendly practices, but at Beaucastel I got the sense they don’t view organic wines as just better than those with herbicides or pesticides, they believe chemicals ruin grapes and destroy the vineyards. I left France with the impression that the people who practice organic or biodynamic farming don’t do it because it sounds good, they do it because they believe it is the only way to make truly great wines that express terroir. But at Beaucastel they are very outspoken about keeping their wines free of corruptive influences (which is more or less how they view chemicals).

Beaucastel is proud of their heritage, but they are also one of the most technologically advanced facilities I visited. It doesn’t just mean having the best equipment either. The Perrin family is still working to develop and refine their winemaking process to produce even better wines. Over the course of several hours Fabrice mention several new practices that were being implemented at Beaucastel that sound not only groundbreaking but in some cases potentially revolutionary (I apologize, but I’m afraid my attempts to describe any of these would be disastrous).

Along with the Beaucastel story, Fabrice also told us the story of Tablas Creek, the property in Paso Robles that is a joint venture between Beaucastel and Vineyard Brands. This story of Tablas Creek warrants its own entry at some point in the future, but for now I will give some highlights. Following the purchase of 120 acres in 1989 Tablas Creek began the lengthy process of importing vine cuttings from Beaucastel (they believed the vines available at that time in California were not of the necessary quality). These cuttings spent 3 years in quarantine and it was not until 1993 that clones began to arrive at Tablas. The winery was essentially forced to start with one twig of each type of vine they wanted to use. A nursery was developed at the site and along with producing the cuttings that would serve as the foundation for Tablas Creek’s vineyards cuttings were sold to winemakers throughout California. The first vintage from Tablas Creek was 1997, and the flagship wine Esprit de Beaucastel was debuted with the 2000 vintage. The project is still not complete, although Tablas Creek plans to have 110 acres under vine by 2010.

We finally headed down to the cellar to taste some wines. Beaucastel’s cellar is reminiscent of the great Bordeaux cellars. You walk past vaulted alcove after vaulted alcove, each with a large stack of wines covered in dust and a sign hanging over them that indicates the vintage. It is truly a library of amazing wines that goes back decades.

Fabrice opened a variety of wines for us, but I’m going to focus on just four. The first wine is the 2005 Vieilles Vignes Roussanne. This is the only wine Beaucastel makes that is single varietal, and it may well be there greatest wine. It does undergo some barrel fermentation, but the aromas or it are so rich and seductive it is amazing. This may well be the greatest wine I have ever had (I’ve had both the 04 and the 05). It has amazing intensity for any wine (red or white), and a wonderful honeysuckle essence to go with powerful body. Enchanting, to say the least.

Next up we tasted the 2004 and the 2005 Beaucastel. During our visit Fabrice asked if anyone knew how many grapes varietals were permitted in Chateauneuf, and I said between 13 and 15 depending on how you counted the variations of certain varietals that can be either white or red (such as Grenache; do you count Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc as one varietal or two?). Fabrice applauded my answer, but corrected me and said that due to loopholes in the very old regulations you could actually get up to 19 different varieties allowed. What’s amazing is Beaucastel incorporates every single one of these into their red wine.

I could attempt to describe the vintage variance between the two wines, but my real focus was trying to get a sense of the evolution the wine goes under between when it is (more or less) first put in bottle, like the 05, and when it is released, like the 04. Beaucastel is a big wine, but the tannins are soft and approachable even at the very beginning. However, there is plenty of spice and leather to the wine and after a year in the bottle the flavors are really heading down the path of integration.

But the highlight was when the brought out a bottle of 1990 Beaucastel. This was the year after the legendary 1989 vintage, although the wine still eeked out a 96-point score. The wine wasn’t decanted and I’m sure sitting there with a glass over the course of 90 minutes would have taught me a lot more about the wine, but I made do with what I had. To put it mildly, I think this wine has plenty of life left in it. The integration that I had sensed starting in the 04 was now complete and the wine displayed an amazing level of luxury and depth. The spice aromas wrapped around the fruit, although my sense was the fruits would continue to emerge. There was a garden and floral sense to the wine, but it was more of a wildflower garden than a rose garden. I tasted the wine a couple of times and spit it out (professional tasting), and I have to say that in the end my palate is still woefully inexperienced when it comes to wines like this and while I can tell there was a lot to this wine I’m not really capable of describing what all was there. I just know I would love to experience it again.

Beaucastel was one of the visits I had highlighted before I left, and I’m thrilled to say it lived up to its billing. If there is a better winery in the Southern Rhone, or maybe the Rhone Valley as a whole, I’d love to know who. Obviously these wines fit my personal tastes, but I think it also goes without saying that they are truly spectacular no matter what your taste. Beaucastel has a lot to live up to if it wants to match its reputation. After my visit, I’d have to say it more than lives up to its lofty expectations.

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