Exclusive offer: 4/7/2023 – Chateau Beaucastel and Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2020
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Offer good through Monday, April 10th 2023, or as inventory lasts.
Hi everyone –
This opportunity only comes once per year.
A chance at two legendary wines, some of the best that France offers, at the best price available.
Don’t miss out on this one.
WHAT THE OFFER IS
It’s the once-a-year opportunity for the legendary Chateau de Beaucastel “Coudoulet de Beaucastel”, and the Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
These wines, together, make for one of the best little tastings you can have at home with family or friends. Both wines from the same vintage, same farming techniques (organic/biodynamic), same winemaker, same EVERYTHING … except the exact plot of land they are from. More on that below.
The 2020 vintage is of extremely high quality, with all reviewers discussing the freshness and balance of the wines being exceptional. What’s extremely exciting to the producers, however, is abundant quantity in 2020 as opposed to the previous four vintages.
Anyone who loves the wines of the Southern Rhône should jump on this.
WHY THESE WINES ARE SO IMPORTANT
There is little debate that Chateau de Beaucastel is one of the most important estates in the Southern Rhône Valley. Their Chateauneuf-du-Pape is what launched Robert Parker’s love of the region, which led to incredible world wide demand for the wines of the Southern Rhône as Parker gushed about them in the 1990s.
In terms of history, provenance, and overall quality, Beaucastel is impossible to beat.
Photo from https://www.chateauneuf.dk/en/cdpen133.htm
In the image on the left, you see the resting soil of Chateauneuf, well known for the big ‘gallets’ or rolled river stones. But this photo is super interesting, for it shows the edge of the clay-based soils that take over in the northeastern corner of CDP (where Beaucastel is located). In the image on the right, you see the vineyards of Chateau de Beaucastel marked out. Let’s put some perspective on this.
Look at the very far northeastern corner of this old Chateauneuf-du-Pape map, and you’ll see Chateau Beaucastel, located on a parcel called “Coudoulet.”
And in the modern map, you’ll see the same outline of the Beaucastel property.
But what neither map can show you (because both maps are all about Chateauneuf) is that just outside of the border of Chateauneuf, the vineyard holdings of Beaucastel continue. But once you cross that border you’re no longer in Chateauneuf, you’re now in Côtes du Rhône.
This is what makes Coudoulet so special. It’s considered by many wine experts to be the BEST Côtes du Rhône made, for obvious reasons. In fact, to lump it with the grab-and-go cheap Cotes du Rhone produced in the rest of the appellation is a bit of a misnomer. It’s so far removed in quality from regular Cotes du Rhone that most wine people simply refer to it as “Coudoulet” because it speaks better about where it’s from.
So for this little two pack, you have one for drinking in the next few years (Coudoulet), and one for popping anytime between now and 2040 (Chateauneuf), OR do what I do and save them both to pop together sometime in the future.
REVIEWS ON THE 2020 BEAUCASTEL CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
97 points James Suckling
Very dense black-fruit aromas, but also licorice, an entire microcosm of spice and a whiff of smoked bacon. Very dense and meaty with an incredible tannin structure that enables this to be simultaneously very big and elegant. Super-long finish with enormous mineral freshness. Drink or hold.
95-97 points Wine Advocate
Beaucastel’s 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape is shaping up as a blend of 30% each Grenache and Mourvèdre, with 10% each Counoise and Syrah, plus 20% other permitted varieties, including a healthy proportion of white grapes. Complex and red-fruited, with hints of flowers and garrigue, it’s expansive and richly textured on the palate, finishing long and silky.
94-96 points Jeb Dunnick
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape was scheduled to be bottled the week after this tasting, and it’s the usual blend of 35% Mourvedre, 25% Grenache, and the rest Syrah, Counoise, and other permitted varieties. While the estate compares this to their 2016, it reminds me slightly of their 1990 and has a wonderful perfume of red, blue, and black fruits, as well as sappy garrigue, saddle leather, and ground pepper. It’s beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, has a good sense of freshness, and fine tannins, as well as a tight, focused style on the palate that bodes well for longevity. It deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and should be long-lived.
REVIEWS ON THE 2020 COUDOULET DE BEAUCASTEL
92 points James Suckling
Deep, savory nose with notes of ripe black cherries and plum cake, plus minty and floral notes. In spite of the considerable power and generous tannin, this is very focused and elegant. The long, energetic finish suggests this has years of life ahead of it. Drink or hold
90-92 points The Wine Advocate
The 2020 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel continues this cuvée’s hot streak. A blend of approximately 30% each Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, with 10% Carignan, it boasts attractive floral overtones, hints of crushed stone and ripe cherry fruit. Full-bodied and impressively silky for such a young wine, it should be drinkable upon release and for at least a decade thereafter.
Always one of the highlights of my visits in Chateaneuf du Pape, the cellars at Beaucastel were a bit dusty when I arrived, as the long-awaited expansion had just gotten underway. Built using the latest practices in sustainability and conservation, it’s expected to be completed in 2024.
Something worth noting, although the family doesn’t actively promote it, is that Beaucastel’s farming has been certified organic since 1966, and the vineyards have been farmed along biodynamic principles since 1974 (although not certified as such).
Jump on this as a gift to the wine lover in your life, or for yourself! You will not regret it.
BUYING ADVICE
- When you have access to the new vintage of Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it’s always prudent to buy a bottle or two. This is the standard-bearer for the region, and one of the top wines in all of France. Compare this price to the top wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, and you see what a bargain it actually is considering its luxury status.
- The Coudoulet de Beaucastel is the best Côtes-du-Rhône produced, simple as that. It’s not a pop-on-a-whim wine, but rather one to pull out for a special steak on the grill or a celebration.
- The opportunity is here for some easy and fun at home wine education: get at least a bottle of each and open them both at the same time with good wine friends. Geek out a bit. Take out some maps. Taste back and forth. Decant them both. And learn about terroir.
- A little hint … stock up a bit on the Coudoulet. I’ve had the 2020 vintage three times now, and I can honestly report it’s the best Coudoulet I’ve had (and my notes on this wine go back to the 1989 vintage). It’s seamless, elegant but powerful, layered, and simply wonderful. It’s drinking great now and will be showing well for the next six to seven years.
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer is open NOW thru Monday evening, or as inventory lasts.