![Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2017 (Southern Rhone, France) - [WA 95-97] [WS 95,](http://artisan.wine/cdn/shop/files/perrin_beaucastel_2017_75_hd_png_61028_640_{width}x.png?v=1708733846)
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2017
(Southern Rhone, France) - [WA 95-97] [WS 95, #67 Top 100 of 2020] [DM 95] [JD 95] [JS 94] [VM 94]
Regular price $120.00 Sale price $109.97 Save $10.03
About This Wine:
Château de Beaucastel has long been regarded as one of the greatest wines in France. It is notorious for its elegance, balance and ageing potential. Chateau de Beaucastel's Chateauneuf-du-Pape has previously been ranked as the #1 wine on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year, and made the top 10 several times. Beaucastel has an exceptional terroir at the Northern limit of Châteauneuf du Pape, exposed to the Mistral wind. All thirteen varieties of the appellation have been organically grown since the sixties.
Vinification
Each variety is harvested separately and manually. Vinification takes place in oak fermenters for the reductive varieties (Mourvèdre, Syrah) and in traditional enameled concrete tanks for the oxydative grapes (all the others). Once the malolactic fermentation is finished, the Famille Perrin blends the different varieties. The blend is then aged in oak foudres for a year before being bottled.
The Vintage
This 2017 vintage will be remembered as the year of all records: the driest year in 30 years, non-interventionist vineyard work, optimal harvest conditions, a very small yield due to climatic hazards, and wines with very rich potential.
Varietal Composition: 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 10% (Vaccarese, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne), 5% Cinsault
Ratings & Reviews
95-97 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
“A tremendous effort, might Beaucastel's 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape outshine even the 2016? I tasted a preliminary blend that Marc Perrin said represented 80% of the wine, and it showed ridiculous floral and fresh aromas of licorice, lavender and spice, all backed by tremendous fruit that went beyond black and red and into hints of exotic stone fruit. The final blend will likely contain more than 10% Counoise, the highest proportion ever utilized at the estate. It's rich and concentrated yet silky and lithe, with a fantastically long, elegant finish." – Joe Czerwinski (Aug 2018)
95 Points & #67 Top 100 of 2020 - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"A dark and winey style, offering a mix of plum, black currant and black cherry notes, infused with black tea, fruitcake and anise accents. Solidly built, vibrant and energetic from start to finish, this carries copious fruit easily through the lengthy finish. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Counoise. Best from 2020 through 2040. 3,500 cases imported." - JM
“A tremendous effort, might Beaucastel's 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape outshine even the 2016? I tasted a preliminary blend that Marc Perrin said represented 80% of the wine, and it showed ridiculous floral and fresh aromas of licorice, lavender and spice, all backed by tremendous fruit that went beyond black and red and into hints of exotic stone fruit. The final blend will likely contain more than 10% Counoise, the highest proportion ever utilized at the estate. It's rich and concentrated yet silky and lithe, with a fantastically long, elegant finish." – Joe Czerwinski (Aug 2018)
95 Points & #67 Top 100 of 2020 - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"A dark and winey style, offering a mix of plum, black currant and black cherry notes, infused with black tea, fruitcake and anise accents. Solidly built, vibrant and energetic from start to finish, this carries copious fruit easily through the lengthy finish. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Counoise. Best from 2020 through 2040. 3,500 cases imported." - JM
95 Points - Decanter:
"There's richness and amplitude to the forest berry fruits, blackberry, raspberry, blackcurrant bush. Amplitude on the palate too, this is very generous, mouthfilling, with enough acidity to meet the alcohol, which doesn't feel excessive. Tannins are much more rounded and buffed compared to the Coudoulet. There's a good sense of freshness, it feels quite dynamic on the palate for such a concentrated, structured vintage of Beaucastel; the Mourvèdre really makes itself known. Very good, but still very young; I would hold until 2027 before opening, though there's certainly pleasure to be had now...Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre." Drinking window 2027-2040 - Matt Walls (Mar 2022)
95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape is another sunny, beautifully Provençal effort that has a huge nose of garrigue, raw steak, leather, truffle, and peppery spice. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced, it’s not a massive Beaucastel yet it has a classic, Provençal, incredibly satisfying style that will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and keep for two decades." (8/16/2019)
94 Points - James Suckling:
"The maturity of the roussanne is immediately apparent with such richness, ripeness and attractive fleshy drive on the palate and a phenolic structure that sustains the length handsomely. Concentrated and super fleshy. A blend of 60% roussanne, with grenache blanc and other varieties. Drink over the next eight years." (Oct. 2019)
94 Points - Vinous Media:
"Saturated ruby. Displays aromas of ripe, spice-tinged blueberry, cherry and blackberry, along with building suggestions of game, potpourri and sandalwood. Offers concentrated black and blue fruit, exotic spice, licorice and floral pastille flavors that show unlikely energy for their heft. Dusty tannins build through a very long, smoky finish that strongly echoes the dark berry and floral notes." - Josh Raynolds (July 2021)
95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape is another sunny, beautifully Provençal effort that has a huge nose of garrigue, raw steak, leather, truffle, and peppery spice. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced, it’s not a massive Beaucastel yet it has a classic, Provençal, incredibly satisfying style that will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and keep for two decades." (8/16/2019)
94 Points - James Suckling:
"The maturity of the roussanne is immediately apparent with such richness, ripeness and attractive fleshy drive on the palate and a phenolic structure that sustains the length handsomely. Concentrated and super fleshy. A blend of 60% roussanne, with grenache blanc and other varieties. Drink over the next eight years." (Oct. 2019)
94 Points - Vinous Media:
"Saturated ruby. Displays aromas of ripe, spice-tinged blueberry, cherry and blackberry, along with building suggestions of game, potpourri and sandalwood. Offers concentrated black and blue fruit, exotic spice, licorice and floral pastille flavors that show unlikely energy for their heft. Dusty tannins build through a very long, smoky finish that strongly echoes the dark berry and floral notes." - Josh Raynolds (July 2021)