FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

MEET THE GROWER Château de Beaucastel CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE I’m sure you know the background to the estate - suffice to say, this is benchmark Châteauneuf and although I think the term “legend” is horribly over-used these days, they’re not amillionmiles off that status! The Perrins have been in the game for five generations and the estate dates from 1549, so there’s a certain amount of “form”, to say the least. Also coming under the Perrin’s umbrella, the Domaine du Clos des Tourelles offers up an excellent example of Gigondas terroir.

RHÔNE SOUTHERNRHÔNE

WA95-97 POINTS

WA94-96 POINTS

CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE CHÂTEAU DE BEAUCASTEL 2016 DRINK2027 - 2040

ROUSSANEVIEILLES VIGNES BLANC CHÂTEAU DE BEAUCASTEL 2018 DRINK2018 – 2029

12x37.5 £280

3x75 £270

Another in a string of top vintages, Beaucastel’s 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape was produced fromGrenache yields of only eight hectoliters per hectare (“normal” is about 28 hectoliters per hectare, according to Marc Perrin). The final blend I was shown is almost candied in its fruity intensity of raspberries and cherries, yet it has a potent underpinning of more savory elements, like tapenade, grilledmeat and dried spices. Full-bodied, with fine, silky tannins, this shows tremendous length, reverberating with hints of crushed stone on the finish.

The 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes combines luxurious richness—honeyed pineapple lushness—with clean, vibrant zest and brine notes tomake for an interesting juxtaposition in its youth that demands time in the cellar tomeld together into a harmonious whole. In one of the mysteries of the wine world, it will then stay on that plateau of decadent maturity for a decade or more.

—JOECZERWINSKI

—JOECZERWINSKI

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WINE CATALOGUE