Chateauneuf-du-Pape by Chateau de Beaucastel

In this part of the blog I will always try to choose a wine, which is somehow different, unique or really traditional, but obviously something that I really like and I think it should be tasted by everyone who loves wine.

So my first choice is going to be a Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Chateau de Beaucastel. It is situated in the northern corner of the Southern Rhone Valley in France. A really old and well known wine region and this very winery is there since 1549.

Usually Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a blend of grape varieties but nowadays it is the Grenache which dominates the blend, sometimes even hundred percent.

But Chateau de Beaucastel is going the traditional way, they blend all the 13 allowed grape variety into the wine and Grenache is not only the dominant grape.

They use Grenache and Cinsault to give alcohol and colour, Mourvedre, Syrah, Muscardin and Vaccarese for structure, aging abilities and colour, Counoise and Picpoul for the acidity, body and the particular aromas.  The average blending percentage are Cinsault: 5%, Counoise: 10%, Grenache: 30%, Mourvèdre: 30%, Syrah: 15% and Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne: 10%. This can slightly change year by year depending on the conditions of the vintage. The wine comes from a 70-hectare vineyard and that is just the red version of it.

The white is coming from a much smaller vineyard of only 7 hectares. It is not surprising, regarding that the production of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is in 90% of reds and only 10% of white wines. It has a predominant grape variety, the Roussanne, which gives and average 80% of the blend each year. The rest is coming from Grenache blanc (approximetly 15%) and the rest is Picardan, Clairette and Bourboulenc. It is a full bodied, aromatic wine, which is capable of ageing and does it so beautifully.

I love both of the wines because of their unique character, taste and vinification – the vineyard is biodynamic – and the history behind the label.

Have you tried these wines already? What do you think about them?