2016 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge 750 ml

A Beaucastel Flirting With Perfection

In which world-famous wine regions can you find a 99-point wine from both an iconic estate and a historic vintage—for $80? Bordeaux? Get real. Burgundy? Not happening. Incredibly, it is still possible in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and that is what we have in the 2016 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge: a wine from Châteauneuf’s most iconic estate, and from what Decanter calls “one of the best vintages of the past few decades.” Add a stunning 99-point score from James Suckling, and it is clear: The 2016 Beaucastel boasts incredible depth, finesse, complexity, and longevity. It is one of the estate’s finest wines ever.

“Buy with abandon” is Jeb Dunnuck’s advice for the 2016 Rhônes, and the other critics concur: This spectacular season has elevated the historic Beaucastel—a solid buy even in challenging vintages—into an all-out blockbuster. James Suckling, with his 99-point score, has never been more impressed with a vintage of Beaucastel. Nor has Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, which has never scored the Beaucastel CdP Rouge higher—not in 42 years! This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime wine from the Beaucastel estate. Opulent, power-packed, and bursting with dark berry fruits, textbook minerality, and classic CdP garrigue, it is Châteauneuf royalty that will only get better with time. Whether you are working on an impressive vertical or have never tasted the glory of Beaucastel, heed our advice: Whatever you do, do not miss this one. $80 per bottle.

Beaucastel is distinctive among Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines for its high percentage of Mourvèdre. An early adopter of biodynamic farming, they fully embrace all 13 permitted grape varieties of Châteauneuf, and use massal selections rather than clones in the vineyards. Located on one single 110-hectare plot in the north of the appellation, the vines at Beaucastel are subject to the stiff Mistral winds, and deliver excruciatingly low yields and massive concentration of flavors. Once harvested, and the grapes are pressed, the wine ages in 500-litre oak casks with light fining, but no filtration. The result is a wine of incredible depth, finesse, complexity, and longevity.  

That, of course, describes Beaucastel in every vintage. Beaucastel in 2016 is another animal, if only in the consensus that it is one of the estate’s finest wines ever. James Suckling’s 99-point score made it the second-highest-scoring Châteauneuf of the vintage, runner-up only to Beaucastel’s own $450 “Hommage à Jacques Perrin.” Robert Parker was an early evangelist of Châteauneuf, dating back to the 1970s, and his publication has never—not one time, not ever—put forth a more impressive score for Beaucastel than they did for the ‘16.

This is an offer that truly transcends personal taste: It is not just for fans of Beaucastel, or even lovers of the Rhône. This is for any wine lover who wants to experience the absolute pinnacle of a world-class region, and knows that opportunities to do it—let alone for under $80—are extremely rare.