Winemaker Notes
Superb deep color. The complex nose offers notes of ripe fruit, spices and flowers. Full bodied and balanced, the palate is very delicate with magnificent aromas of cherries, plums and licorice and a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An exceptional wine for this appellation, offering a beautiful red-fruit nose with overtones of summer flowers. Very pure and fresh for this very warm vintage, this not only has impressive concentration, but also excellent focus, thanks to the lively acidity. The tannin structure shows its hand at the long and remarkably complete finish for this appellation. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
A well-balanced, perfectly ripe, very fresh expression this year. Fine tannins, with good grip, harmonious acidity and dark streak of concentrated fruit into the finish. You'll be glad you bought some of this. Not hugely deep or hugely complex, but beautifully balanced. 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 10% Vaccarèse/Terret Noir/Muscardin, 3% Cinsault, 7% white varieties. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bottled just a month before this tasting, the 2019 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel is showing brilliantly, with a rich, medium to full-bodied, textured style that displays the ripe, sexy style of the vintage. Offering lots of both black and blue fruits as well as truffly earth and garrigue notes, it can be enjoyed any time over the coming 10-12 years.
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Wine Spectator
Solidly built, with a core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit that pumps along nicely, supported by dark licorice and warm earth notes, with flashes of worn leather. Offers some eye-opening stuffing for its designation. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel features scents of tar, black olives and plummy fruit on the nose. It's full-bodied, concentrated and surprisingly crisp, with bright acids and a rather tart, savory finish. It's a solid effort, but nothing more from this normally overachieving bottling. Best after 2023
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.
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.