Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2018

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 2018 vintage is characterised by exceptional weather conditions. Flowering took place in the best possible conditions, with a historically abundant grape output. A few rainy episodes at the end of the spring complicated things a little with an attack of mildew, but the good weather then settled down until harvest, which took place under idyllic conditions. The wines are beautiful.
Location
Château de Beaucastel has 7 hectares planted with 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
The 2018 White Château de Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes shows a superb deep colour of a mimosa-yellow. Its buttered nose offers a wonderful bouquet of quince, dried apricot, Mirabelle plum, lime and roasted pineapple notes. Very elegant on the palate, it shows great richness and an opulent texture but perfectly balanced with plenty freshness, and powerful aromas of white flowers (acacia, honeysuckle), honey, almonds, citrus zest and truffle notes reinforced by delicate woody notes. The finish is of exceptional length and salinity.

Reviews

95-97/100
"The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is all Roussanne and comes from a three-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1901. It offers a heavenly bouquet of white currants, white flowers, honeysuckle, and toasted bread that opens up beautifully with time in the glass. Rich, full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, it stays perfectly balanced on the palate and has that rare sense of richness paired with freshness that’s the hallmark of truly great wines."
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94-96/100
"The 2018 Châteauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes combines luxurious richness—honeyed pineapple lushness—with clean, vibrant zest and brine notes to make for an interesting juxtaposition in its youth that demands time in the cellar to meld together into a harmonious whole. In one of the mysteries of the wine world, it will then stay on that plateau of decadent maturity for a decade or more.""
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95/100
"This is deeply golden in colour, with a dizzyingly complex nose encompassing pear, white pepper, lychee, almond nougat, marzipan and white peach. It’s very full-bodied, very rich and unctuous, but not as outrageously opulent and long in flavour as the 2017. The acidity is balanced, if on the low side. From 100+-year-old Roussanne vines giving very small yields, harvested around two weeks after the younger vines."
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