Community Tasting Note

• Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 93 points

  August 5, 2023 - This wine puts me in mind of Marshal Grouchy, because like the Marshal it is an example of excellence in its work, from an ancient family (the winery dates back to the 1500's) and is not always well understood or properly assessed.
  
  Grouchy was a first rate commander, a cavalryman who was very capable in handling all arms (from artillery, to infantry, to the different types of cavalry). Beaucastel use most and sometimes all of the 53 million permitted grape varieties in Chateauneuf du Pape and they deploy them beautifully.
  
  Beaucastel typically is made up of about 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah/Shiraz and then the other bits and bobs. The Syrah component is sometimes aged in oak, some of it new French, but I have not ever noticed a strong oak component in their wine and, given the rest is fermented and aged in concrete and/or huge old oak barrels (over 1000 liters), I have to say I am surprised to read people noting a strong vanilla oak character. I wonder if they were interpreting some of the riper blackberry and ferment aspects as vanilla?
  
  I found this to be a highly engaging, very enjoyable wine (characteristics not generally associated with Grouchy). Blackberry, plum and Grenache 'portiness' are to the fore. On the first night open (no decant), there was also roast meat and some charcuterie. I also got significant amounts of garrigue and especially lavender. Grenache seems to me to be the dominant grape at this time, with its perfume and that port aspect. The Mourvedre is providing some tannin grip and I like the tannin structure of this wine - for all the alcohol slipperiness, there is grip but it is not chunky.
  
  Negatives for me are largely around the high ABV - 14.5% (at least) and, for me, a sense that this lacks the balance of the 2019, which added just a bit more muscle. It will come down to personal preference.
  
  Grouchy provided Napoleon with 2 decades of splendid service. He has borne some pretty unjust criticism for not marching to the sound of the guns at Waterloo, where his presence may well have changed the outcome. However, he was following his orders and, in that sense, he was very much a known quantity. If Napoleon had wanted a commander who was going to be more instinctive, he should have appointed someone else. Grouchy won the last French victory of the campaign, at Wavre and then led a very effective fighting retreat into France.
  
  I think that, like Grouchy, this wine should be taken for what it is and appreciated as such. I prefer the 2019, more of Le Pic or Nansouty, but this wine has its place, as did Grouchy.

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3 Comments

• nebbiolofan commented:

  8/6/23, 5:24 AM - Nice review but I would add that it is general consensus that Beaucastel is oaky when young.

• Rote Kappelle commented:

  8/6/23, 10:31 PM - Dear Nebbiolofan,
  
  Thanks for your comment and for being constructive in your approach. However, I must take issue about the 'consensus' comment.
  
  First, if it is 'the general consensus', general amongst who? Before I wrote my TN, I had a look and none of the following referenced oak in any way - Jeb Dunnuck, Parker's Wine Advocate, Suckling, Jancis Robinson, Jeff Leve. That's some big hitters outside of the consensus.
  
  Second, for the consensus to be right, the wine maker must be lying about how they make the wine and the professional reviewers must be carefully avoiding reference to oakiness. It is possible, but in this case all I can do is observe that my own take is in line with the maker's statements and the reviews by professionals who cross a wide spectrum of tastes and styles and preferences.
  
  I have no problem with a drinker calling what they see and if that is oak in a wine that is not known to be oaky, why not just say that? I have concerns about aspects of the 2021 German Riesling vintage, but I acknowledge that my concerns are not the consensus. The reader can then form a more informed judgement.
  
  If I saw reviews about a CdP that said it was oaky I would not touch it, because to me that is not what I want in my CdP. If I saw reviews that said they felt there was oak but that was not what the professional consensus was then I would have something more to consider. When we write we have a responsibility to say what we think, but also to remember that words have influence, even if it may be limited influence.
  
  The tannins in this wine do not speak of oak - they are not grainy, for example, nor is there a creamy mouthfeel that I might expect from barrel ferment in new oak, I tried hard to find vanilla but could not (and it would be pretty crude use when it would be French oak, not American and if oak there be, I would expect more cinnamon, pencil shaving etc. unless the blow torch was turned right up) and the only thing I could see that might possibly speak of oak was some charcuterie, but I have not yet been able to tie that down to oak - it could be a ferment character.
  
  I want to be clear- I am not having an ad hominem dig at the reviewers on site. I am, however, perplexed by the oak comments as they seem to be at odds with what is known of the wine. There is room for difference amongst reasonable minds. If the notes identified more about how they got to 'oakiness' that would help. It would need only a few extra words.

• Phenol73 commented:

  8/7/23, 10:59 AM - Wonderful comment(s). Thank you!

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