2017 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Rouge

The 2017 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel is a textbook example of this cuvée, and while it tends to be a relatively expensive Côtes Du Rhône, it merits the price. Complex garrigue, ground pepper, and earthy dark fruits all flow to a medium to full-bodied wine that has a polished, elegant texture as well as the sunny, Provençal style of the vintage. It’s capable of lasting for 15 years or more. One of the reference point estate in the Rhône Valley, as well as the entire wine world, is that of the Perrin Family’s Château de Beaucastel. Located in the northern, cooler part of the appellation, the estate covers roughly 100 hectares of vines from which they produce a red and white Côtes Du Rhône (from vines just outside the appellation), two Châteauneuf du Pape whites, and two Châteauneuf du Pape reds. Looking at the Châteauneuf du Papes, both whites are Roussanne dominated, with the Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc being roughly 80+% Roussanne, and the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes cuvée being 100% Roussanne. The Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is one of the greatest whites made in the world in just about every vintage and while it drinks beautifully young (a recent bottle of the 2014 was off the charts) it also has the capacity to evolve for decades. As to the reds, the classic cuvée comes all from vines around the estate and is unique for its high Mourvèdre content, with the blend normally in the realm of 35% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, and the rest Syrah, Counoise, and other permitted varieties. Aging occurs in a mix of barrels and foudre. The flagship Hommage A Jacques Perrin cuvée comes primarily from a single parcel of 90+-year-old Mourvèdre vines located just behind the estate. Raised in foudre, it’s a powerful, singular, exotic expression of this variety, and there’s no one out there that does it better.

Still not yet bottled for my June visit (it was scheduled to be bottled at the end of the month), the final blend of the 2017 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel was showing plenty of garrigue and dried-spice notes layered over cherry fruit. Full-bodied, silky textured and long on the finish, it should drink well for a decade or more.

Fragrant, spicy, fairly light compared with Famille Perrin's Gigondas and Vinsobres cuvées. Still a closed book, but the clarity of fruit is very promising. (RH)