2011 Chateau de Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Borderline perfection, the sensational 2011 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is a tour de force in white from the southern Rhône. A blend of 100% Roussanne aged half in new barrel and half in stainless steel, from a single plot of very old vines and from ridiculous yields of 10 hl/ha, it offers a thick, opulent style and is loaded with notions of buttered citrus, flower oil, marmalade, and crushed rocks. While it hits the palate with a wealth of sweet fruit on the attack, it turns clean, mineral-laced and dry on the finish, with incredible length. This full-bodied, heavenly dry white can be enjoyed any time over the coming 15+ years.

A great white wine vintage, according to owner François Perrin, this is now taking on some copper hints to its appearance. A very rich style, with quite noticeable oak notes, it’s powerful and concentrated, almost chewy with extract and distinctly honeyed. The mineral side and the salinity is firm here, in this bold, muscular and strong vintage of this cuvée, with a long finish. This wine is from a single parcel of Roussanne, planted in 1919 and grown biodynamically. Aged in one-year-old demi-muids and barriques. Maximum of 6,000 bottles per year.

The Beaucastel 2011 Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is another remarkable wine. Think of it as the 2010 with more minerality and precision. It has astonishing richness and length as well as massive body with great acidity. Drink it over the next 5-8 years. As I said last year, the Perrin family is a large one indeed, with brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois sitting at the top of the hierarchy and their four sons, Mathieu, Pierre, Thomas and Marc increasingly taking charge of their negociant business and their extensive estates throughout Southern Rhone. Now controlling over 1200 acres, as well as having a network of contracts, this operation is the equivalent of a major Southern Rhone train operating at high speed. Moreover, they are doing some incredible work in all price ranges. Other 2011s that the Perrin boys have produced include the following wines, which were very good across the board, especially for 2011s. In particular, readers need to take a hard look at their estate in Vinsobres, which is making the finest wines of that appellation, and more recently, what they are doing in Gigondas with the estate they purchased there, Clos des Tourelles. These are special wines. There are now three cuvees of Gigondas from the Perrins - the Gigondas La Gille, the Gigondas Vieilles Vignes and the Gigondas Clos des Tourelles. All three merit serious attention. Tasting the 2010s, which were all set to go into bottle right after my visit, certainly shows that this vintage is impressive, although I'm not sure that Marc and Pierre Perrin haven't done as good a job with their selections in 2011. Three cuvees of Gigondas look to all have outstanding potential and will probably be in bottle by the time this report is published. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Oak and rather big, bold and 20th-century in style. Heavier than the 2009 regular Beaucastel blanc. Maybe just a bit too much of a good thing? (JR)