Among the great expressions of the Southern Rhône, the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2022 from Château de Beaucastel, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, stands as a work of patience and precision. Sourced from a centenary vine heritage planted in 1901, this cuvée draws its strength from a terroir of rolled pebbles that store daytime heat and gently release it, ensuring harmonious ripeness. Rich without weight, broad yet restrained, it is aimed at collectors of white wines who seek both immediate emotion and ageing potential. Its creamy body, animated by a chiselled freshness, unfolds an aromatic crescendo of white flowers, acacia honey, exotic fruits and dried apricot, lifted by a breath of spices. As much a table wine as a wine for contemplation, it complements elevated cuisine, enhances noble textures and celebrates the long view. Limited to 6,000 bottles, it embodies deliberate rarity and the signature of a place and know-how passed down with exacting standards.

Blend and vinification

This cuvée is made exclusively from Roussanne sourced from old vines planted in 1901. The harvest is manual to preserve the integrity of the berries. Vinification combines finesse and structure, with fermentation in barrels, including a proportion in new wood to bring relief, and in vats to preserve the fruit's vibrancy. The 8-month ageing, punctuated by regular bâtonnages, builds texture, suspends the finest lees and reveals remarkable sap without ever masking the mineral imprint. The rolled pebbles terroir defines the framework, giving energy and straightness to the vintage's natural generosity. The final balance, between tactile depth and aromatic purity, sets this high-fashion white apart, designed to age and flourish over time.

Tasting notes

• Appearance: Luminous gold with pearly highlights, clear, with a sustained brilliance betraying juice concentration and noble extraction.
• Nose: Generous and precise bouquet: white flowers and honeysuckle, acacia honey, dried apricot and exotic fruits, a hint of wax and soft spices, all carried by a delicate mineral streak.
• Palate: Full attack, creamy and caressing texture, revived by a saline tension. Persistent, deep development with an endless finish where yellow fruits, spices and a stony filigree return.

Serving temperature and advice

Serve between 10 and 12°C to preserve nerve and reveal the bouquet's complexity. A 20 to 30-minute decant allows the cuvée to open and express its most delicate nuances. Store in a cool, stable, dark cellar, lying down, to encourage harmonious evolution. The cellaring potential is long, with particularly appealing development from a few years in, reaching an apex over a wide trajectory, the cuvée showing at times youthful brightness, then more honeyed and spicy with age.

Food pairings

• Aperitifs: langoustine tartlets, comté gougères, delicate white fish rillettes.
• Starters: scallop carpaccio with citrus, roasted lobster with brown-butter, white asparagus with mousseline sauce.
• Main courses: truffle risotto, free-range poultry in cream, pike quenelles with Nantua sauce.
• Cheeses: aged comté, ewe's milk tomme, truffle Brillat-Savarin.
• Desserts: thin pear and honey tart, nougat glacé, poached peach in spiced syrup.

Occasions

The Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2022 proves an ideal companion:

• To celebrate a rare moment with a small group around a carefully set table.
• At a gastronomic dinner where the food-and-wine pairing tells the story of the terroir.
• As an exceptional gift for a collector of great white wines.

Specifications

• Name: Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 2022, Château de Beaucastel
• Appellation: Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
• Type: White wine, single-varietal Roussanne
• Vintage: 2022
• Grape: Roussanne 100%
• Alcohol level: in line with the appellation's standards
• Ageing: 8 months, bâtonnage, share of new barrels
• Volume: bottle format
• Cellaring: long, with a trajectory from 2027 to 2038 and beyond
• Serving temperature: 10–12°C, decant recommended