Château de Beaucastel Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2009

Presentation

Presentation
Considered as one of the greatest white wines in France, only 6000 bottles of this wine are produced. It's made with 100% very old Roussanne vines and harvested slightly over ripe. This exceptional wine must be drunk within 3 years or after 15 years. To be enjoyed with gastronomic cuisine.
The vintage
The 2009 vintage can be described as a wine with good structure and soft tannins. The wine is balanced and has a good acidity level despite the high temperatures in August. This wine has characteristics of a great vintage such as 2005 and 2007 with great ageing potential.
Location
Château de Beaucastel has 7 hectares planted in white varieties.
Terroir
Molasse seabed of the Miocene period covered by diluvial alpine deposits (rolled pebbles).
Ageing
The grapes are hand picked in small cases and sorted, pneumatically pressed, settling of the juices and fermentation (30% in oak, 70% tanks). Bottled after 8 months.
Varietal
Roussanne : 100%

Advice

Serving
14°C in tasting glasses.
Tasting
Beautiful golden color.
The nose is slightly woody with an explosion of honey, peaches, exotic fruit and an exceptional richness and intensity.
The mouth has a remarkable texture, thick but fresh. We find notes of white flowers and honeysuckle, lavender, honey and orange zest. The balance is perfect especially with the minerality, coming from the limestone, which gives this wine a great texture. A great vintage of Roussanne Vieilles Vignes.

Reviews

100/100
"The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Vieilles Vignes (Roussanne) is a staggering wine of extraordinary complexity and richness. Aromas of rose petals, exotic fruits such as mango and nectarine intermixed with peach marmalade, honeysuckle and crushed pineapple emerge from this full-bodied white along with good acidity and lavish amounts of fruit and glycerin. It offers a nearly out of body wine tasting experience."
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95/100
"Dense and rich, with creamed yellow apple, sweetened butter, glazed pear and Cavaillon melon notes all woven seamlessly together and gliding through the very long finish. Show gorgeous purity and length. Drink now through 2020."
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17,5/20
"Intensely ripe quince and pear and already a note of honey but there is a real directness and power on the palate that comes from a mineral foundation. Silkier than the other two Beaucastel whites. Bone dry but fills the mouth. Fabulous length."
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96/100
"The 100-percent Roussanne "Vieilles Vignes" plot is 3 hectares and the vines are now 89 years old. Some 30 to 50 percent is fermented in barrels, with the remainder in stainless steel vats. Similarly, 30 to 50 percent is aged in oak, with the remainder in stainless steel for about 8 months. The nose is gorgeous, with acacia flowers, minerals and honey. Fresh and complex; the roussanne gives it the capacity to age. According to Thomas Perrin, it is a wine to consume up to 5 years of age or after a decade, but not during the intervening years."
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"A glorious wine with exotic cinnamon-sprinkled apricot notes, a touch of honey and nuts and delicious cleansing acidity on the finish."
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94/100
"Vivid gold. Heady aromas of citrus and pit fruits, smoke, anise and honey, with a floral topnote. Powerful, delineated poached pear and nectarine flavors are lifted by zesty acidity. Suggestions of smoke, spice and exotic honey linger on an impressively focused, persistent finish."
Between 9.5 and 10
"Light to medium gold in the glass, this wine smells of honeysuckle, lemon curd, and wet stones with a hint of chamomile. In the mouth the wine is powerfully rich, with nearly-sweet lemon curd, honeysuckle and chamomile flavors. A minerality sings underneath the wine, and the acidity, like in a hermitage blanc, is quite subtle and filigreed, but beautiful and does exactly what it needs to as a balance to the ripe fruit."
95/100
"Dense and rich, with creamed yellow apple, sweetened butter, glazed pear and Cavaillon melon notes all woven seamlessly together and gliding through the very long finish. Shows gorgeous purity and length. Drink now through 2020. 500 cases made."
99/100
"So much waxy and nutty complexity, accentuated by the essence-like dried pear character.
Astonishing texture on the super-concentrated and equally elegant palate. Then, just when you think you've got it, the dried-apricot finish pours over you in a great creamy wave that doesn't want to end. And none of these words quite capture the magic of this astonishing wine. Drink or hold.
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