Coudoulet de Beaucastel red 2021 MAGNUM

 PRESENTATION OF BEAUCASTEL
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Coudoulet de Château Beaucastel 2021 MAGNUM red wine

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Joe Czerwinski, Oct. 2023): 92/100. A terrific vintage for this wine, which was bottled just a couple of weeks prior to my late June visit, the 2021 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel is a blend of 30% each Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, plus 10% Cinsault. From a vineyard just outside the boundaries of the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it's a remarkably consistent wine and always a solid value. Scents of sunbaked stones, black cherries, and licorice appear on the nose, joined by hints of purple raspberries and dark chocolate, while the medium to full-bodied palate is lush and velvety, finishing long and complex. (drink date: 2023-2035)

Technical sheet written by the domaine:

THE WINE
The 30 hectares of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel vineyard are located just east of Beaucastel, across the A7 motorway. For reasons that will become obvious, it is often considered the baby of Beaucastel. When examining the soil of Coudoulet, one notices many similarities with that of Beaucastel. It consists of Miocene marine molasse covered by alpine diluvium. This layer of rolled pebbles greatly contributes to the wines of Beaucastel: it stores the intense heat of the Mediterranean sun during the day and slowly releases it to the vines at night. This allows for a good start for the vines in spring.

THE VINTAGE
Favored by very fine climatic conditions, the 2020 vintage is a year of optimal quality. Less hot than 2019, this year was very windy throughout the growing cycle, with low rainfall. After a rather mild and gentle winter (only one frost episode is noted on the night of March 24-25, but only the earliest plots are very slightly affected), spring is bright, quite warm, and very windy, allowing the soils to retain their freshness. Flowering begins on May 18, under very healthy conditions. The beautiful weather continues in June, July, and August, with warmth but lower temperatures than in 2019, cool and humid nights, and the wind continuing to blow, preserving the freshness of the vines and maintaining the perfect sanitary quality of the grapes. The harvest, quite early, begins under these very good conditions on August 26 with the Côtes-du-Rhône whites and continues until the end of September with the Mourvèdre. The month of September, initially warm and then more temperate, offers idyllic harvesting conditions and allows each plot to be harvested at perfect ripeness. The harvest is very healthy with beautiful juicy and well-ripened grapes, reasonable alcohol levels, good acidity, and already a beautiful balance.

LOCATION
Eastern part of the Beaucastel vineyard, 30 hectares in the Côtes du Rhône appellation.

TERROIR
Miocene marine molasse covered by alpine diluvium (rolled stones), identical to that of the
Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard.

AGING
Manual harvest, sorting of the harvest upon arrival at the cellar, heating of the whole grapes to 80°C (skin), cooling to 20°C. Classic maceration in concrete tanks for 12 days. Free-run juice extraction. Pressing in a pneumatic press. Blending of the different grape varieties that were vinified separately after malolactic fermentation. Aging in oak casks for 6 months.

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache 40%, Mourvèdre 30%, Syrah 20%, Cinsault 10%

SERVICE
16°C in an INAO glass.

TASTING
Superb deep color. Complex, the nose offers notes of ripe fruits, spices, and flowers.
Full and balanced, the palate is delicate with magnificent aromas of cherry, plum, and licorice, and a long finish.