Beaucastel Blog

Ploughing le Clos des Tourelles in Gigondas

2010-08-04T15:40:06Z

For our Japanese speaking friends

2010-08-02T07:44:42Z

A nice article from Mrs Fumiko Aoki

Thank you Decanter for the cover of the August issue!

2010-07-29T15:40:34Z

Rasteau promoted to 'Cru'

2010-06-29T08:14:15Z

Rasteau in the southern Rhône has been elevated to AOC status, appellations body the INAO announced this month

The commune has been promoted from Côtes du Rhône Villages, with the designation backdated to cover the 2009 vintage.

With 75% of vineyards on hillsides rising between 500 and 1000 feet, Rasteau, with its smooth, stone covered clay-limestone terraces, has been long considered a top red Côtes du Rhône Villages wine, an AOC that was granted in 1966.

Rasteau's application to be elevated to a specific AOC as a dry red wine has taken almost a decade to be approved.

The winegrowers' syndicate requested it 2002, but experts from a board of inquiry studied the vineyards and excluding some 100 hectares from the current 1300 before granting the status, according to a press release.

'This decision is a natural acknowledgment of the quality of the Rasteau terroir, a point that had to be made clear to consumers, and a definite message to the market,' said Jean-Jacques Dost, general manager of Ortas Cave de Rasteau, leading producer and marketer of the new AOC Rasteau.

Rasteau now counts as a member of an inner circle of Southern Rhône AOCs, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Tavel, Lirac, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise.

(from decanter)

A great article about Beaucastel & Tablas Creek in the Wall Street Journal, by Jay McInerney

2010-06-21T08:11:30Z

Here

La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2009, 87 points WineSpectator

2010-05-11T07:33:26Z

This has a nice dark cherry color, with tasty cherry, ripe strawberry and mineral notes that all weave through the fresh finish. Lively and tasty. Drink now. BEST VALUE.

What moderately priced wine have you and your family been enjoying most in recent weeks? And why do you like it?

2010-04-22T15:04:06Z

Rupert Symington, The Symington Group (Portugal). I recently bought 24 bottles of Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2007 from the new Portuguese importer for Perrin, and I have to say on opening the first bottle I was mightily impressed. As a huge northern and southern Rhône fan anyway, this bottle delivered everything I could ask for from a medium-priced Châteauneuf. I have had Coudoulet many times before at tastings in the U.S. and in Canada, and while it is nearly always overshadowed when tasted alongside the main Château de Beaucastel bottling, it is still remarkably complex and unquestionably better than quite a number of wines from the region that sell at higher prices. The figgy, spicy 2007 went down beautifully with a simple roast chicken cooked with fresh herbs from the garden accompanied by cauliflower with cheese. This was my homecoming dinner after two weeks travelling in the U.S., and I certainly wasn't in a state to be thinking too hard, so Coudoulet could possibly be my perfect "jetlag wine.

Thank you Rupert for this mention!

Come and visit us !

2010-03-15T13:09:00Z

We will be in Châteauneuf du Pape on April 10th and 11th from 10am to 7pm for the first edition of the « Printemps de Châteauneuf du Pape ». It is an opportunity for all wine amateurs to come and meet us and taste our wines.

For more information go to : www.lesprintempsdechateauneufdupape.fr

A new Food match on Muscat de Beaumes de Venise

2010-02-17T14:22:08Z

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is like a candy !
Golden, menthol notes, this sweet wine goes very well with citrus.
Lemon peel brings the best out of this wine and so does the Bay leaf
This is a light and refreshing match

Lemon and bay leaf soufflé

For 4 People :

•   10cl Milk
•   10gr Butter
•   30gr Sugar
•   1 spoon of Four
•   2 Egg yolks
•   3 Egg whites
•   1 Lemon (zest)
•   1 teaspoon of powdered bay leaf

1 - Melt the Butter in a pan with the Milk and the Sugar. Add the Flour to the warm mixture and beat energetically on the heat until it thickens. Turn off the heat and add the 2 Egg yolks and the zest of 1 grated lemon. Whisk till the mixture is homogeneous and poor into another dish, cover with cling film and leave to cool.
2 - Butter the individual moulds and coat with sugar (it will stick to the butter).
3 - At the last minute, whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the mixture that should be at room temperature. Poor into the individual moulds leaving half a centimetre gap at the top.
4 - Place in a 165°C oven for about 12 -13 minutes.

PERRIN Muscat de Beaumes de Venise should be drunk very cold, nearly iced. Put in the fridge the day before and serve it at the last minute.

VINISUD 2010

2010-02-05T12:30:18Z

Come and visit us on our stand from 22 to 24 February 2010, to discover and taste our range of wines.

VINISUD
Parc des Expositions of Montpellier
HALL n°11
ROW A
STAND 57

Opening of our Restaurant in Gigondas

2010-02-01T13:26:41Z

We purchased l'Oustalet last summer and after a very busy season, we closed the restaurant last November for refurbishment. L'Oustalet is right in the centre of the village of Gigondas on the "place du village".

Last week we re-opened and the restaurant has a new look, a new chef, and a new wine list! The Chef, Aurélien Laget was sous-chef at the famous 2 Michelin star restaurant Chez Bru in Eygalières. The specials menu changes daily following the seasons and according to what takes the Chef's fancy in the market.

It is the height of the Truffle season in Provence at the moment so of course we have a special truffle menu. We have a wide selection of wines from our fellow winemakers around France. Our dishes have been designed to match certain wines and the sommelier can advise customers accordingly.

You can find out all the latests news about the restaurant on the Facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Gigondas-France/Restaurant-lOustalet-a-Gigondas/214274500926?ref=sgm

The restaurant during refurbisment Doug & Meg House, first customers we took to the restaurant

New Menu :
CARTE HIVER 2010 20 janvier-1.pdf
Truffle Menu :
Menu Truffe 2010-1.pdf
Wine list :
Livre de cave.doc

The restaurant after refurbishment

Beaucastel in the snow !

2010-01-15T08:54:29Z

Last week we experienced the biggest downfall of snow in 25 years ! 40cm of snow fell last Friday and a week later, patches still remain. Needless to say that we had to interrupt all our activities mainly the pruning for the whole week.
Snow is actually beneficial for the vineyard as when it melts it penetrates slowly into the soil and helps break it up. Furthermore with the cold temperatures as low as -11°C all parasites were destroyed. Today the sunshine is back and the forecast is for warmer temperatures in the next few days.

The start of a new year, the start of the pruning

2010-01-06T13:52:08Z

Since the end of harvest, we have been very busy out in the vineyard at Beaucastel. We have prepared the holes for the plantation of new vines in the spring, we have spread the compost and we have hand ploughed a few plots. The autumn was mild and dry so we took advantage of these weather conditions to get a lot done outside. Since Christmas there has been a change and it is now cold and quite humid.

In November we harvested our olives in Beaucastel and Vinsobres. It is a good year for olives and we will be producing some good olive oil for our kitchens!

The start of the new year is also a start to a new viticultural. Since the beginning of the week the entire team is dedicated to pruning at Beaucastel but also in Cairanne, Gigondas and Vinsobres.

In the cellars, the last malolactic fermentations of the 2009 are ending and we are very happy with this vintage which has a great structure with soft tannins.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy New Year.

A bientôt !

Primum Familiae Vini event in Asia is next week

2009-11-11T17:35:49Z

From 16 to 21 November 2009, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, will host a series of exclusive events together with Primum Familiae Vini.

Gala dinners will take place
- at Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong (16 November 2009)
- at Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo (18 November 2009)
- and at Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai (20 November 2009).

Trade and press events (by invitation only) will also be taking place at all above venues.

At gala dinners, a member of each family will present the family estate and one of its flagship wines that are hard to acquire in the marketplace, paired with specially designed menus.

In each city, the gala dinners will be moderated by longtime PFV friend Serena Sutcliffe M.W. head of Sotheby's Wine Department.

Guests will have the opportunity to celebrate their passion for fine food and wine through intimate and personal conversation with 11 families who are the historic owners of some of the world’s very greatest vineyards.

The PFV members in attendance will be Alessia Antinori (Marchesi Antinori), Baroness Philippine de Rothschild (Château Mouton Rothschild), Laurent Drouhin (Maison Joseph Drouhin), Egon Müller (Egon Müller Scharzhof), Etienne Hugel (Hugel et Fils), Hubert de Billy (Champagne Pol Roger), Marc Perrin and Pierre Perrin (Perrin et Fils), Paul Symington (Graham's, Warre's and Dow's Port), Juan-Maria Torres (Torres), Sebastiano Rosa (Tenuta San Guido) and Pablo Alvarez (Vega Sicilia).

A Primum Familiae Vini collection case, containing one bottle of each member's flagship wine, will be auctioned under the hammer of Serena Sutcliffe M.W. at the gala dinners for the benefit of a local charity.

More details here.

A video about terroir and viticulture

2009-11-05T19:02:15Z

Beaucastel 2005 was one of wine spectator's top 10 wines of 2008. A few weeks ago, at the New York Wine Experience, Marc Perrin commented a tasting of this wine and explained the Family's organic viticulture practices. The video from WineSpectator is here