Winemaker Notes
Magnificent shiny red color with carmine undertones. Powerful and complex, the nose reveals a superb aromatic bouquet with aromas of very ripe red fruit, combined with notes of chocolate, tobacco and undergrowth. Generous and silky, the palate opens with a soft and round attack before revealing its elegant tannic structure, perfectly well balanced and very harmonious. A refined wine with remarkable harmony, a sign of great maturity in this particularly hot and dry vintage.
Blend: 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 10% Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc & Roussanne, 5% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A textured, layered, precise red, showcasing aromas of cherries, raspberries, warm herbs, bay leaves and baking spices. It’s medium- to full-bodied with silty, beautifully melted tannins. So integrated. Lively and focused, with plenty of energy and verve complementing the ripe red fruit and dried herbs. Intense stream of spices in the long, flavorful finish. From organically grown grapes
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Decanter
Dark and inky in colour this year. It’s fresh in its berry fruits, really quite powerful, with muscular tannins and driving acidity behind. A dense, dark and brooding vintage of Beaucastel. The aromatic precision however is extremely impressive: elderberry, sloe and blackberry. It’s solid and will age well. Do not drink this young, as it will likely disappoint if opened too early. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudres. Syrah and Counoise are whole bunch fermented.
Barrel Sample: 96 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is some serious Provençal goodness, with just about overflowing aromas and flavors of sweet raspberries, blackberries, peppery garrigue, and Provençal spices. It has the sunny, expressive, complex style of the vintage, medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. As with most 2022s, it has plenty of upfront charm yet solid underlying tannins as well.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured 100% in foudres, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Château de Beaucastel evokes aromas of dark wild berries, dark cherries, spices and licorice mingled with a touch of chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, deep and dense, it’s perfectly balanced with a structured, textured and seamless mid-palate enhanced by velvety tannins and a peppery, delicate and long finish. Cesar Perrin is aiming to reduce the percentage of Syrah in favor of Counoise, so this harmonious Beaucastel, matured in foudres, is a blend of 30% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 5% Cinsault, 5% Terret Noir, 5% Muscardin, 5% Vaccarèse and 20% of white grapes, such as Roussanne and Clairette.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.