Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château de Beaucastel Rouge, Perrin - Château de Beaucastel 2022

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. It reminds me slightly of the 2009 and will have two decades of longevity. (Drink between 2024-2044)

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. Try after 2027.

Cask sample. Incredibly juicy nose – black tea, leather and spiced notes as well. The palate is rounded, sleek and plush. There is so much density on the palate. Supple mid palate and a meaty note on the rich finish. There is good, fresh acidity here as well, with a weightiness to the palate but balanced by the fresh acidity. Complex and impressive! (AC)

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.

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.