Famille Perrin - Château de Beaucastel

The history of Château de Beaucastel

Château de Beaucastel is mentioned as early as 1549, when Pierre de Beaucastel bought "a barn with its tenement of land containing fifty-two saumées assises à Coudoulet". It was already part of the commune of Courthézon, one of the principal towns of the principality of Orange.

In the 18th century, Château de Beaucastel passed into the hands of the Gontard family, who kept it until the early 19th century. It then changed owners several times, before being bought by Pierre Tramier in 1909, when the vineyard was completely ravaged by phylloxera.

Pierre Tramier passed it on to his son-in-law Pierre Perrin. Today, it's the fifth-generation children, Marc, Pierre and Thomas, who rule over the Château de Beaucastel vineyards.

The Château de Beaucastel vineyard

The Château de Beaucastel vineyard is made up of Miocene marine molasse, covered by alpine diluvium. Close to the Rhône, the soil remains marked by the presence of its waters and, above all, its rolled pebbles.

The vines of Château de Beaucastel benefit from a microclimate that provides more sunshine than the region's average, for a rather low rainfall. Temperature variations are spectacular, but the pebbles allow the vines to counteract these excesses. They store the heat of the sun that knocks the hillsides down, then release it during the night, making for smoother transitions for the vines and their berries.

The Mistral wind blows in between the vines, drying them out and preventing many of the diseases and parasites that the wind blows away. The Château de Beaucastel vineyard covers 100 hectares surrounding the building. Three-quarters of the production belongs to the Châteauneuf du Pape Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, with the Château de Beaucastel cuvée, and the remaining quarter is produced under the Côtes du Rhône AOC, with the Coudoulet de Beaucastel cuvée.

In addition, the estate has some 30 hectares that are used in crop rotation for new plantings. This makes it possible to reserve plots that are not planted for at least ten years. Every year, between one and two hectares of the lowest-quality vines are pulled out to rest the soil. The equivalent is replanted on the reserved plots.

The vineyard includes the 13 grape varieties of the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation: Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccarèse, Counoise, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc and Roussanne.

The first Château de Beaucastel wine: Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge

The first wine of Château de Beaucastel is in the Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge appellation. It is a blend of the 13 grape varieties authorized in the appellation, harvested when fully ripe. This is a complex wine, made from 50-year-old vines. Its color is dark, almost black. The nose exudes red fruit, leather and musk. The palate is spicy and peppery, with a marked licorice flavor. Silky tannins. This exceptional wine goes perfectly with game.