Château de Beaucastel Millésime 2018 Châteauneuf du Pape Coudoulet Roussanne blanc rouge vins Famille Perrin

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Beaucastel 2018
Vintage

The 2018 vintage is characterized by exceptional weather conditions.

After an episode of drought throughout the vegetative cycle in 2017, the accumulative precipitations in November amounted to 250 mm. The rather mild winter allowed our teams to prune the vineyard in the most favourable days of the lunar calendar according to the principles of biodynamics. This precise work promoted a balanced vegetation and avoided disbudding. We then enjoyed a beautiful vegetative period until flowering which, thanks to the wind, took place in the best conditions and allowed a historically abundant grape outburst. The regular rainy events that followed, between early May and late June, made the vineyard work more complicated than usual. The appellations of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône experienced a strong attack of mildew, especially on Grenache, a more sensitive variety that was the first to be affected. The Gigondas appellation area was spared by the rain and therefore was a good vintage, with no crop loss. The good weather came back from July 1 to August 15 with abundant high temperatures. A storm of 100 mm on August 15th was the last rainfall of the season.

The good weather then lasted throughout the harvest, allowing to pick each parcel at perfect maturity. They began on August 22 with Viognier which gave wines with nice balance. The white grape harvest continued until September 3rd. White Grenache expressed a lot of salinity and tension. The white Châteauneuf du Pape was barrelled at mid-fermentation allowing to work the fine lees which brought roundness and balance. The red grape harvest began on 7 September with Syrah in Côtes du Rhône, followed by Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. The harvest ended on October 5th in Vinsobres. The alcoholic fermentations went well: during the maceration we favoured soft extractions with daily pumping over. The malolactic fermentations started spontaneously at the beginning of November on all the wines.
In this 2018 vintage, the wines of Gigondas are silky and elegant, the Vinsobres more round and opulent and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape have a beautiful aromatic complexity with a nice balance.