2013 Chateau de Beaucastel en primeur 

Intensity, elegance, finesse

For a property that is often said to make one of the very best wines in the appellation, Beaucastel is hardly typical of Chateauneuf. It actually includes all thirteen of the permitted grape varieties, and has always relied on an unusually high proportion of Mourvèdre in the blend. This atypical character has left Beaucastel brilliantly placed in 2013 when conditions favoured Mourvèdre (and Syrah) over Grenache. Meanwhile, nature has also delivered exceptional conditions for the whites, resulting in wines with beguiling levels of depth and richness.

So what makes Beaucastel so successful? There's no trick, just Herculean levels of hard work on the part of the Perrin family. They make multiple passes through each vineyard, sort by cluster, destem and sort again. And on top of that, though not interested in certification, they have been biodynamic - no easy commitment - since the 1970s. It is these levels of diligence that mean they can make great wine vintage in, vintage out.

Which is not to say that they are scared of change. If you remember Beaucastel as a big, bretty bruiser, then it's time to take another look, because that image is long out of date and the wine has moved on. The Perrins have achieved that most amazing but difficult of things, a wine that combines intensity of flavour with a certain elegance; power with finesse. /NT

Offered subject to remaining unsold; available winter 2015