Château de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet Blanc 2007

Presentation

Presentation
The 30 hectares of Coudoulet are located just east of the vineyard of Beaucastel on the other side of the A7 motorway. For reasons that have now become obvious, Coudoulet is often considered the baby Beaucastel. The Coudoulet soil has many similarities to that of Beaucastel. It is made out of Molasse seabed covered by diluvial alpine deposits. These pebbles called “Galets Roulés” play a big role: They take in the heat during the day and let it if off slowly at night which gives a good start to the vines in the Spring.
The vintage
A great vintage characterised by very hot days and cool nights. The wines combine great structure and fruit giving perfect balance. The tannins give great ageing potential to this vintage. Big wine to keep in your cellar.
Location
Within the Côtes du Rhône appellation, adjoining the vines of Château de Beaucastel, between Orange and Avignon. The vineyard of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc is 3 hectares (6 acres) in size.


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Terroir
Miocene marine molasses with a layer of alpine diluvium (rounded pepples).
Ageing
Hand picked grapes are collected in baskets prior to sorting, pneumatic pressing and clarification of the must, fermentation partially in oak barrels and partially in steel tanks.
For eight months in barrels and steel tanks, before blending and bottling, without cold stabilisation.
Varietals
Bourboulenc : 30%
Marsanne : 30%
Viognier : 30%
Clairette : 10%

Advice

Serving
Serve lightly chilled at 10°C in a fine glass.
Tasting
Colour: pale yellow.
Nose: peaches and honey.
Palate: rounded and rich, full bodied with a balanced freshness and floral notes.


Reviews

17,5
"Light herbal oil. Heady and challenging on the nose. Full bodied and round with herby notes. A little chewy, but lots of interest there. Lovely and round, a bit salty or bitter on the finish, lots of interest."
90-92
"Readers should not overlook the 2007 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet blanc. Always one of the appellation’s finest white wines, the outstanding 2007 is a blend of equal parts Viognier, Marsanne, and Bourboulenc with a dollop of Clairette. It displays aromas and flavors of tropical fruits, lychee nuts, white peaches, and flowers offered in a deep, medium to full-bodied style with great fruit as well as terrific acidity.

Beaucastel and its subsidiary wines marketed under the Perrin et Fils moniker are consistently among the bright shining stars of France. I have been visiting this estate for nearly thirty years, and over that time I have seen all the elements of what makes wines great – an incredible respect for the vineyards, a conscientious, uncompromising work ethic, and extraordinary passion for gentle handling of fruit from their sites. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin seem to be gradually inching closer to retirement as their sons take more and more of a front row seat in the running of this outstanding estate. This is a marvelous portfolio of wines, from the extraordinary values, to the top-end world classics. While one could say this is as traditionally run estate as can be found in western Europe, the Perrins are remarkably flexible if they sense that quality can be improved. Quality rises dramatically with the Perrin et Fils cuvees. The Cotes du Rhone Reserve wines are produced primarily from the estate vineyards at Grand Prebois and Vinsobres, with some purchased fruit from such Cotes du Rhone appellations as St.-Gervais. Marc Perrin, who is responsible for winemaking at Perrin et Fils, seems to go from strength to strength with this line of wines, which includes negociant bottlings as well as some from estate vineyards in Vinsobres.
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