| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Rhône > Southern Rhône > Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
| Colour | White |
| Type | Still |
Based largely on Roussanne with smaller amounts of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, and Bourboulenc, the 2024 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc shows vibrant white peach, honeyed melon, flowers, spice, and crushed stone. It's medium to full-bodied, with a fresh, focused mouthfeel, notable purity, integrated acidity, and a great finish. This beauty will drink nicely over the coming 30 years if well stored. Drink 2025-2054.One of the stalwarts of the appellation, Château de Beaucastel continues to produce an incredible array of wines from their estate on the northwestern edge of the appellation. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the 2023s show the approachable style of the vintage, yet the reds bring impressive density and concentration. The estate lost some Grenache due to shatter in 2023, which resulted in a higher Mourvèdre component in the classic cuvée (40% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 10% Syrah), giving it a more serious, focused style than most in the vintage. The whites are absolutely brilliant, with the 2024 Roussanne Vieilles Vignes showing heavenly levels of richness and depth from very old Roussanne from a single parcel just behind the château. It’s consistently one of the greatest white wines in the world. The tiny production Hommage à Jacques Perrin comes from a single parcel planted by Jacques with the idea of the perfect blend for a Châteauneuf du Pape and is always based on 60% Mourvèdre and 20% each of Syrah and Grenache. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the 2024 reds from barrel, but I’ll report on these next year. The estate recently wrapped up a massive renovation of the cellar that was built with sustainability front and center and will be using an evaporative cooling mechanism with stored rainwater. As usual, this brilliant family never puts a foot wrong. (Drink between 2025-2054)
Wafting from the glass with a fresh, perfumed bouquet of spices, white flowers, pear, peach and angelica, the 2024 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc possesses a medium- to full-bodied, dense and sappy palate framed by a gastronomic bitterness, concluding with a long, saline and lively finish. More tensile than in the past, this is a strikingly pure white wine.
