I didn't think that it could happen.....to find a wine in the south of France than intrigued me and made me fall in love as much as Bordeaux wines!!! Today we went for our 10:30 am appointment at Chateau de Beaucastel and it was such a beautiful estate and much bigger than most in this region.
We met Kirsty, our tour guide and another group from Sweden. She showed us the property and explained the family and that they had this property since the 1600's. Jacques Perrin is well known for his ownership and the advances he made within the vineyard. He was instrumental in making the wine production organic at such an early time.
This is the only inhabitant of the vineyard, it is Jacques's widow. Kirsty told us she is completely independent in her 90's and continues gardening and driving to all the local markets. I want to be like her someday!!! I respect her 'collection!'
Our little wine expert......at such a young age, she is so educated!
On to the caves....
This wall alone had 47,000 bottles of wine.....why didn't I bring a bigger purse?????
I could sit in this area with a few Beaucastel Methuselah's!!!!
On to the tasting room - we were fortunate enough for Kirsty to grab a 1995 Beaucastel on the way out of the caves on the way to the tasting room. We tried the white and a few reds and then the 2009 Chateau Beaucastel.....young but it was still amazing. It was a deep red berry color and smelled of some sort of berry and earth heaven, sweet and interesting...I believe I told Steve that I could swim in it!!! It was nice, not necessarily my style of wine but still one of the best wines we have tasted in Provence. Then the love of my life appeared and I didn't even know it!!!! She opened the 1995 Chateau Beaucastel. I didn't even expect the love affair that was about to happen. The color of the wine was completely different, almost brown and the smells were taking me back to the 'terroir' I love and respect in French wines. Is it possible????? Earth and heaven in a Chateauneuf de Pape??? Clearly I realized just how completely uneducated in these wines. I enjoyed every taste of this wine and actually asked for more!!! (They only do one tasting per day, why should this go to waste???) Fortunately we were able to take some of the nectar of God home with us......sorry to our friends and family visiting us, we WILL NOT be sharing this tiny slice of heaven!! (But I'm sure Kirsty will be happy to sell some to you! ;->)
Château de Beaucastel is a winery located in the southern part of the Rhône valley in France, which is primarily noted for its Châteauneuf du Pape wines produced in a long-lived style. For its red Châteauneuf du Pape, Beaucastel includes all 13 grape varieties that are traditionally part of the blend, and uses a higher-than-usual proportion of Mourvèdre. The special Vielles Vignes cuvée of Beaucastel's white Châteauneuf du Pape is a varietal Roussanne wine, which is rare in Rhône and rarer in Châteauneuf du Pape.
This is fantastic! You look like you're having a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteStaci