Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017, 750ml, Rhone Valley, France

70 hectares of vines on alluvial alpine deposits with rolled pebbles. The vines are on average 50 years old and yields are never more than 30 hectoliters per hectare and often much less. This is a vibrant and healthy vineyard due to years of organic cultivation. 13 grape varieties authorized under the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation are planted: Mourvèdre 30%, Grenache 30%, Syrah 10%, Counoise 10%, and Cinsault 5%. Other varieties add up to 15%. Grapes are hand-picked, hand sorted. Skins of the whole berries are heated to 176 degrees F, and then cooled down to 68 degrees F. Maceration is classic, in open-topped wooden vats for Syrah and Mourvèdre, and in concrete tanks for the other varieties. The varieties are blended after malolactic fermentation. Wine is then aged in large oak casks for a year, and bottled after fining with egg white. At least a further year’s aging in bottles takes place in the cellars. For more than a century, the Perrin Family has faithfully safeguarded the reputation of this noble “Cru de Beaucastel” by passing on their unique savoir-faire from father to son.