Another wine post you lucky, lucky people. After the Jura wines post I could tell you all had an unquenchable thirst for wine posts (with the seeming indifference to that post, just a clever double bluff on your collective parts to encourage me to redouble my efforts in terms of putting out more wine posts 🙄). Regardless you are getting one, with this time the tasting being back in Cardiff and relating to the one of Chateaneuf du Pape’s seminal producers in the form of Chateau de Beaucastel.

Now, Chateauneuf du Pape (“CNdP“) is one of those wines, which (at least to my mind) has rather lived off its reputation (certainly at the lower, still not cheap, end of its price scale) and sat on its laurels raking in the seemingly endless stream of cash (a bit like Hugh Grant’s character in About a Boy). People are aware of the name and associate it with luxury, but all too often a CNdP flatters to deceive with the risk of getting a boring, bloated, boozy, bruiser (Phil Mitchell) of a wine.

You can find yourself paying a premium for the CNdP name on the bottle, but getting a wine that is often no better than a decent (and a fair bit cheaper) village Côte du Rhone (“CdR“) and that’s if you are lucky. 

At the lower end of the CNdP price (still quite high by UK wine drinker standards, whose average spend on a bottle is still well under £7, with Tesco’s Finest CNdP going for more than 3 times that average spend at £21) and quality scale (more often than not supermarket CNdP), you are probably better off looking at the surrounding AOCs like Cairanne (the Perrin family, who are behind Chateau de Beaucastel CNdP, made a great one which you can get as Costco for sub £14.00), Lirac (the La Fermade by Domaine Maby, which you can get at the Wine Society for £14.50, is great) or a CdR (Guigal’s CdR is very good for the sub £10 price tag if you are a Costco member).

You see far more red CNdPs than white, with 93% of grapes in the AOC being red varieties, with a massive 13 different grape varieties allowed in the reds  The whites on the other hand, with 6 varieties allowed, made up a mere 7%. I would posit that the vast majority of occasional CNdP drinker have never had a CNdP white (which is a shame as when it is good, boy is it good) and will buy (and probably be disappointed by) their red CNdP from a supermarket.

I often think supermarket CNdPs bears a lot of responsibility for many peoples disappointment as to the quality of so called high end wines, with people buying them as a high day and holiday wine and (often quite rightly) thinking “Well this is a bit shxte for the money!”

Now Chateau de Beaucastel can never be accused of being at the lower end of the CNdP (or indeed any) price or quality scale and I am particularly keen on their (regrettably very pricey) white CNdPs. A tasting of their CdR and CNdP wines was one I was keen not to miss.

The tasting was lead by Robbie Priddle of Blindfaith who had sourced (at a good price) some of the wines, with the balance coming from the club’s rather fulsome cellar. Always sure to get a knowledge packed and entertaining tasting when Robbie leads.

The result was a potentially rather stellar line up, with perhaps a curve ball thrown in in terms of how a certain bottle would hold up (the Coudoulet Rouge 2007,  Coudoulet being the Chateau’s Côte du Rhone offering and 17 years plus being pretty venerable for a humble CdR).

Wine 1- Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc 2020

This wine is a blend of Bourboulenc (30%), Marsanne (30%), Viognier (30%) and Clairette blanche (10%) grapes and is fermented partially in oak barrels and partially in steel tanks.

It is aged for eight months in said barrel and steel tanks.

Lovely straw colour, with initial aromas of citrussy herbs (lemon verbena) and then peach.

On the palate, there was less citrus and more peachy stone fruit, orchard fruit (pear) and a touch of peppery spice.

Nice refreshing acidity, but perhaps a touch short on the finish.

A promising start.

Price: Around £30 mark.

Wine 2 – Chateau de Beaucastel  Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2020

In theory a very big step up in class (and price), this 100% Roussanne wine is from vines planted prior to the start of World War One. It is entirely barrel-fermented and matured, half in new oak and half in second-use barriques

Lovely bright golden colour with flashes of green, which made for an interesting contrast with the previous coudoulet

Not as much difference as I was expecting colour wise between the two.

It had a beautifully expressive nose. Creamy, with apricot, peach and honeyed pear. 

On the palate it was rich and luscious, almost oily in the mouth, with quite floral notes, almond nuttiness, butter and white pepper, as well as a touch of slatey minerality.

Love the mouth feel of this wine, which was creamy and rich, yet vibrant and refreshing with a long, almost decadent, opulent finish

Absolutely gorgeous wine, with plenty more to give as it ages. Shame about the price mind!

Price: Around the £146 mark (😬).

Wine 3  – Chateau de Beaucastel  Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2012

An interesting test in terms of the impact of a bit more bottle ageing here, with an extra 8 years on the clock from the previous wine.

Again 100% roussanne, with a mere 6000 bottles produced (doubt many of those left these days) from very old (70-100 years) vines, with said grapes harvested when slightly over ripe (according to the producers website).

Lovely vibrant colour,

which was rather evocative of the sun drenched summers of the Southern Rhone

On the nose, there was caramelised pineapple (someone said pineapple upside down cake) followed by lychee, honeyed pear and bees wax.

On the palate, with an almost oily texture, it coated the tongue with layers of honeysuckle, nuts and apricot. As it lingered, for an ages, on the palate it gave  a delightful finish of honey and a touch of salinity

Stellar stuff (but at a price).

Very different from the 2020, with the 8 year wait undoubtedly giving a wonderfully different experience.

Both lovely, but I think I marginally preferred the 2020  This wine had so much going on that it was all a bit sensory overload. Almost too much of a good thing.

Price: Around the £140 mark.

After the rather stellar whites, it was on to the reds.

Wine 4 – Coudoulet de Beaucastel Rouge 2021

From a vineyard just outside the boundaries of the appellation of the  Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, this is a blend of grenache (40%), mourvèdre (30%), syrah (20%) and cinsault (the remaining 10%)

Deep red/mauve,

it looked very youthful.

On the nose, I got dark cherries (slightly unripe though), liquorice, a touch of mint and earthiness.

On the palate, it had quite a silky mouth feel (despite some grippy tannins) and some peppery spice on top of dark cherry fruit. Just that little bit short on the finish.

Price: Around £30 mark.

Wine 5 – Coudoulet de Beaucastel Rouge 2007

Regarded by some, at the time, as one of the finest vintages ever of this wine, with the ideal combination of hot days and cool nights  There was some discussion, when putting the tasting together, as to whether to include this wine (which made it a 9, rather than our customary 8, bottle tasting). The inclusion group (including me) won the day.

The blend here has more cinsault (up from 10% to 20%) than the 2021, at the expense of grenache (down from 40% to 30%), with the 50% balance from mourvèdre (30%) and syrah (20%).  Ageing, as with the 2021, is 6 months in oak foudres.

Colour was a little lighter than the 2021,

but still quite youthful in hue.

Any worries as to longevity were swiftly dispelled with a nose of ripe black fruit, cherries and kirsch, leading to an almost black forest gateau richness.

More dark rich fruit on the palate, with liquorice and pepper spice.

In great nick for its age and I have bought a bottle, as for the quality it is a bargain at the price being asked for it currently, which will be perfect to drink now or for up to 5 years I reckon.

I think this would best pretty much any CNdP at a similar price point.

Price: £26

In respect of their red CNdPs Chateau de Beaucastel state that they use all 13 AOC allowable grape varieties (it is quite unusual for producers in the AOC to do so), with these being (both red and white)  Grenache (Black, Grey, white), Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Clairette (White, Pink), Vaccarèse, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Counoise, Muscardin, Picpoul (Black, Grey, white), Picardan, and Terret Noir.

Wine 6 – Chateau de Beaucastel 2007

Similar colour to Wine 5,

but with a much meatier nose followed by blueberries, cassis and even a touch of incense.

On the palate, there was liquorice and a touch of florality and earthiness, but it all felt just a little bit austere and taut. It was also a bit hot (boozy) on the finish.

I have heard that CNdPs go into a sort of sleepy stage where it is all a bit muted  before a reawakening occurs and perhaps this wine needs more bottle time to wake up a bit.

Price: Around the £107 mark. 

Wine 7 – Chateau de Beaucastel 2001

Showing a bit of age in the colour,

the nose was quite muted. Touch of meatiness, maybe, but no fruit and no real teritary elements in the mix.

On the palate, it was all a bit flat and muddy. To me it was deep in coma stage, after possibly falling off a cliff and then being hit by a bus, followed by being run over by an 18 wheeler truck, with little hope of resuscitation.

There was discussion as to whether there was a fault with this wine, but the consensus of opinion (including mine) was there wasn’t.

This may all sound a tad harsh, but when you are looking at a price of over a £100 a pop it needs to be pretty darn good, and it simply wasn’t. In a word, disappointing.

Price: £115 (hmmmm!).

Wine 8 – Chateau de Beaucastel 1998

Oh boy, were we back in the zone with this wine.

Showing its age just a touch in the glass

with a lighter bricky red colour

The nose was of meat (someone said butchers apron, but it was more roasted/bbq’d meats to me) and red fruits. On the palate, the theme of red fruits continued, with raspberry and a refreshing acidity. Touch of crunchy pomegranate also as it lingered. Really nice and as fresh as a daisy at 26 years old.

Price: Around £96 mark.

Wine 9 – Chateau de Beaucastel 1996

Final wine of the night and this was certainly showing its 28 years colour wise

On the nose, I found it quite muted. Mushroom peelings, touch of burnt orange/non big name cola but all quite background in presence. 

On the palate, I got stewed fruit and prunes but not much else. Felt a bit boozy  and hot in the mouth too.

Not a big fan of this one, to be honest.

Price: Around £80.

The verdict

Very interesting tasting, with some superlative whites and a couple of crackerjack mature reds. The CNdP reds perhaps showed how much of a mixed bag these wines can be, although to be fair the disappointing 1996 was from a pretty indifferent vintage and way past its generally accepted prime drinking window. The 2001 had no much excuse, with it being a 94 point vintage according to the Wine Spectator.

A big (and rather pleasant) surprise to me was the quality and longevity of the Coudoulets. The 2007 red was a lovely wine and (to me) easily the best value wine on the night.

In terms of overall score, my top three aligned with the overall vote of members present and were as follows:

1. Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1998
2. Chateau de Beaucastel Blanc VV 2020
3. Chateau de Beaucastel Blanc VV 2012

Many (well it is a wine post so probably just a few) of you may be thinking bloody hell how does he afford to buy these sorts of wines and my answer is I didn’t. That’s the beauty of being a member of a wine tasting club, you get to try great wines without having to pay full whack.

This tasting was £35 which by my reckoning is less than 7.5 pints of Carling (aka horse piss, apologise to horses for this unforgivable slur) or just under 3 espresso martinis (😴) at the Alchemist (a place, which when I worked in an office in the city centre I had to think of all manner of excuses to avoid the works do/drinks at – I mean with my head of hair the “I am washing my hair” excuse just didn’t wash).  Personally I think £35 is a lot to drink a belly full of absolutely shxte beer, with the likely truly horrific hangover the next day, but damn good value for the pleasure of trying some really interesting wines (we even throw in some cheese and biccies) presented by someone who imparts their knowledge in the process.

As an aside, I think it is a shame and a huge worry for the wine world that young people seem to be turning away from wine. I am not sure what the answer to the dilemma is, but judging by the price of cocktails and the success of that market segment, with the younguns it isn’t a lack of cash. I do think younguns seem less inclined to want to get p*ssed through drinking large volumes of phish and perhaps are more inclined to want to  appreciate different flavours and nuances in what they drink rather than having a “Let’s get bladdered” mentality (although I have not been into Gotham AKA Cardiff City centre on a weekend evening for a while). To me, this is actually a much more grown up way of drinking and the popularity of short cocktails (I mean if you can get drunk on these at £12 odd a pop, without busting the weekly budget, then good on you) would suggest this more nuanced approach to drinking. 

To me decent wine offers such nuances (better if you ask me), so should fit the bill or maybe the popularity of cocktails is all down to tiny umbrellas, bunsen burners and the dry ice (makes for a great TiKTok, I suppose, when the drink looks all a bit Heath Robinson)?

I do think wine has a marketing problem, as no matter how good the wine is you won’t sell it to some demographics as they simple won’t know about it (if it isn’t being remorselessly plugged on “Itstragramaaaazing“or TiKTok – still not entirely sure as to what the latter actually is to be honest, but the clearly insane chap who did a 25 wine blind tasting during the London marathon certainly garnered alot of interest).

The really good/cult (not necessarily the same thing) wines sells out really fast through word of mouth (mainly to a select few). As a result, the producer has to do little marketing wise, but for how long will that remain the case? I fear my generation is possibly the last with any great love for wine and once we pass on, will there be anyone to take up the baton? Good job I will be dead and buried by then, as a world without wine is like a world without sunshine (basically the UK since last October) and that prospect depresses the hell out of me.

I am sure there are some whizz kid marketeers out there who would be able to come up with some bright ideas, but that must be aligned to the wine actually being good. A funky, edgy, label needs a good wine inside the bottle/can/whatever (often the marketing tail rather wags the “Is the  product any good” dog) otherwise it is just a pretty, shit, bottle/can/etc. of wine.

I attended a very interesting tasting of wines from the Liberator wines (the brain child of the Cape(d) Crusader, Richard Kelly MV)

at the great State of Love and Trust in Cardiff and these sort of wines (fun, interesting wines, with clever marketing) and that place may be the answer. Run by a young, knowledgeable and enthusiastic owner, not afraid to go out on a limb with wines, its offers nice wines by the glass (and beer) and a fab £10 corkage on bottles off the shelf (as well as buying to take out). Sort of person (easy to chat with, just tell him what you like and he will generally be able to point you to a wine that suits your taste and budget) and place that should make wine trendy again.

Alternatively, perhaps, a “Queen’s Gambit” style TV show would help. Certainly did for chess, with the show linked to a massive increase in chess set sales etc. A series dramatising the run up to and aftermath of the Judgement of Paris perhaps? I mean if you can make chess trendy then surely wine is a slam d(r)unk.