Chateau de Beaucastel Wine Weekend at Langdon Hall Vintages, Charton Hobbs and Langdon Hall put on a really fantastic wine weekend last weekend. I know I've been critical about the system we have in place here in Ontario but I have to give everyone at Vintages and Charton Hobbs credit and thanks for attracting Francois Perrin and for hosting a wonderful and professional event.
My wife, Tracey, and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend up at Langdon Hall (Relais & Chateaux) for a structured tasting of Beaucastel ('81, '89, '90, '95, '98, '03) and then a dinner with the '03 Beaucastel and some of the "lesser", but as it turns out exceptionally food friendly, Perrin wines.
I won't go on about the event itself and the location other than to say that this was a great setting and the planning and execution were top notch - not bad for a government run monopoly.
Francois was very entertaining as he conducted the tasting in the afternoon.
The red wines that were poured were:
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 2003
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1998
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1995
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1990
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1989
- Chateau de Beaucastel Rouge 1981
I had great expectations for this tasting. I've had the 1989 a couple of times before and it goes down as one of my favourite wines ever. I've read plenty of reports where people feel that the 1990 is even better so this was going to be an execptional opportunity to try them head-to-head.
I didn't take detailed notes on each wine but did record impressions and some of the comments from Francois. One of the interesting comments that he made is that he finds that each vintage of Beaucastel can be described as "square" or "round". This is a style consideration, but Francois suggested that the square vintages can be more interesting and ageworthy as they have very distinct personalites but the round ones have a great charm and can be enjoyed earlier.
In the '89 vs '90 bout, the '90 came out as the clear victor this night. The '90 had more character to it and the finish went on and on. Early on the palate the '90 had spice and red fruits that were nicely tart, but the finish started to show some sweetness as it dissipated. The '89 was wonderful but simply rounder with the finish being not really bringing anything different than the start. Don't get me wrong, I adored the '89 and it is certainly was great, but the additional structure of the '90 won me over.
The 1990 was my clear favourite of the evening. I could not pick a 2nd favourite between the '98, '95, and '89. Each was remarkable for different reasons.
The '98 was a younger cousin of the '89 and was very luscious and seductive. The '95 was much more of a brute but also with exceptional purity and intensity. In 5-10 years, I can see '98 / '95 being the new generation '90 / '89.
The 1981 was a very nice, fully mature Beaucastel. It's probably past its prime but was wonderful to taste such a mature example. Francois believes it has plateau'd and will hold on for many years longer.
The tasting ended with the 2003 Blanc. It was very nice, exceptionally full bodied but I really didn't pay too much attention as I was still reveling in the reds.
Some interesting tidbits from Francois:
- Beaucastel produces 20,000 cases per year
- 2003 was a very hot and dry vintage and is a vintage to age, not showing it's best character yet
- despite RP's note (suggesting more grenache), the 2003 is the 30% grenache, 30% mouvedre, 20% syrah, etc.
- 1998 is 50%+ grenache and is "perhaps too round"
- each varietal is vinified separately and harvest of different reds can be a month apart
- very little sulphur is used as the press juice is flash heated (like pasteurization), a technique learned in burgundy
- great pride and a desire to maintain tradition comes through in everything they do
- oak is like makeup. it's good/important to have some but too much is rarely called for or attractive
- the lesser varietals (of the 13 allowed) are like salt - essential to bring out the full potential flavours
- according to Francois, 2005 is "very special" so the hype isn't limited to just Bordeaux
Finally, I asked Francois about how "Chateau de Beaucastel Hommage A Jacques Perrin" is different than the regular rouge bottling. The "Hommage" designation is to pay hommage to their father, Jacques, who planted Mouvedre as part of an effort to bring back traditional varietals that had virtually disappeared in CNdP. The Mouvedre was a big bet and was basically planted for the next generation (Francois and Jean-Pierre) who are now reaping the benefits of these old vines.
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