2021 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone

Including more Mourvèdre than usual (40%), the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape sports a deep ruby/purple hue as well as an utterly classic Beaucastel nose of ripe red and blue fruits, spice, game, truffly earth, and ground pepper. Reminding me of the 2012, it's medium to full-bodied, has a layered, concentrated md-palate, sweet tannins, and a great finish.

One of the stalwarts of the appellation, Château de Beaucastel continues to produce an incredible array of wines from their estate in the northwestern edge of the appellation. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the 2022s are ripe, sexy wines that bring to mind 2019 or even 2009. The whites are absolutely brilliant, and while only tasted from barrel, the 2022s will certainly be incredible wines. The 2021s also showed well and possess more depth and density than most in the vintage. In general, Mourvèdre seemed more challenging in 2021, but you certainly wouldn’t have that impression after tasting at Beaucastel. The closest comparison here for the 2021s would be the 2008s, which are balanced, elegant wines that are still drinking beautifully today. The 2021s should be a step up in quality, although I suspect they will evolve along a similar trajectory. Lastly, the estate is wrapping up a massive renovation of the cellar that was built with sustainability front and center and will be using an evaporative cooling mechanism with stored rainwater.

94 points jebdunnuck.com