Château de Beaucastel 2017

Beaucastel’s terroir is marked by the Rhone violence. It is made with a layer of marine molasses (sandstone) from the Miocene period, covered by alpine alluvium. The presence of a great number of rounded stones, known as « galets », bear evidence of the time when the Rhone, a torrent at this time, tore fragments of rocks from the Alps and deposited them along its course.

The meso-climate plays an important role with a low rainfall, beautiful sunshine and spectacular temperature differences. Here, the « galets » make an essential contribution to the quality of the vintage: they retain the heat of the day and radiate it to the vines during the night. The Mistral wind that blows through the very old vines, with gnarled roots, dries and clean the vines planted in the traditional style called «gobelet».

Organically grown since the sixties and exclusively hand-picked, the grapes are carefully sorted when they arrived at the cellar. Only the best grapes will be kept and vinified. After total de-stemming, the harvest is vinified in traditional temperature-controlled vats for 15 days, before aging in oak barrels.

In order to reveal their character, aromas and originality, the 13 grape varieties of Château de
Beaucastel vineyards are vinified separately.

The art of blending, passed down from generation to generation in Famille Perrin, impart character to the Beaucastel wines. After the blending is done, the wine is stocked in oak barrels where it will age for one year. Only racking operations will disturb this rest. The wine matures slowly in Beaucastel’s cellar until the moment is right to bottling. The bottles will then be kept at the chateau for another year.