2021 Château de Beaucastel Coudoulet Côtes du Rhône
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Tasting notes
Bottled at the beginning of July, the 2021 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel shows the fresher, focused style of the vintage yet brings beautiful fruit. Red, blue, and black fruits, peppery herbs, and underbrush notes define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with ripe, polished tannins and a great finish. One of the stalwarts of the appellation, Château de Beaucastel continues to produce an incredible array of wines from their estate in the northwestern edge of the appellation. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the 2022s are ripe, sexy wines that bring to mind 2019 or even 2009. The whites are absolutely brilliant, and while only tasted from barrel, the 2022s will certainly be incredible wines. The 2021s also showed well and possess more depth and density than most in the vintage. In general, Mourvèdre seemed more challenging in 2021, but you certainly wouldn’t have that impression after tasting at Beaucastel. The closest comparison here for the 2021s would be the 2008s, which are balanced, elegant wines that are still drinking beautifully today. The 2021s should be a step up in quality, although I suspect they will evolve along a similar trajectory. Lastly, the estate is wrapping up a massive renovation of the cellar that was built with sustainability front and center and will be using an evaporative cooling mechanism with stored rainwater.
Critic scores
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
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.
Very appealing nose, juicy, packed full of berry fruit, leather and spice. Rich layered palate with taut tannins, good freshness and a balanced finish. Needs a bit of time – medium-bodied but attractive dark-fruit cassis-led style. (AC)
Ripe red fruits, black cherry and spicy nuances introduce the 2021 Côtes-du-Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel. Polished and harmonious, it closes with good drive on the pleasant finish, which is a tad shorter compared to preceding vintages.
About the producer
This Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate is one of the Rhône’s most famous addresses. With a history stretching back to the 16th century, Beaucastel remains family owned and run, with the fifth generation of the Perrin family – Marc, Pierre, Thomas, Cécile, Charles, Matthieu and César – at the helm today.