Discovery / Wineries / Château de Beaucastel & the Perrin Family
Wineries · Follow your curiosity
Château de Beaucastel & the Perrin Family
An estate name, successive generations and a transatlantic partnership: Beaucastel connects Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a much wider Rhône-grape story.
A little acquaintance, at a glance.
- Place
- Courthézon · southern Rhône
- People
- Tramier & Perrin family history
- Wine connection
- Châteauneuf-du-Pape
- Beyond France
- Perrin–Haas · Tablas Creek
The name and the family have different timelines
Beaucastel’s name reaches back to Pierre de Beaucastel’s acquisition at Coudoulet in 1549. The modern family chapter begins much later: Pierre Tramier bought the property in 1909, and his son-in-law Pierre Perrin continued its development. Jacques Perrin carried that work forward; Jean-Pierre, François and a further generation continue the family story in the estate’s account.
That distinction matters. A centuries-old estate name does not mean one family owned it throughout those centuries. Follow the people and the property as connected histories, each with its own dates.
A white wine makes the cellar story concrete
The estate’s published 2021 Roussanne Vieilles Vignes sheet describes a 100% Roussanne wine. Its fermentation and maturation use a combination of wood and stainless steel. This is an instructive counterpoint to the red blends more often associated with Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
A single grape can be worked in several vessels and then assembled. “Single-varietal” answers composition; it does not mean one parcel, one barrel or no blending of lots. Read the release-specific sheet before extending a method to another Beaucastel wine.
A cellar built around its surroundings
Beaucastel’s architecture account describes a project involving Studio Mumbai and Studio Méditerranée. Earth, stone, underground spaces and ventilation are part of its response to the site. The building becomes another part of the winemaking story: how to move, shelter and mature wine, rather than simply how an estate looks from the road.
The photograph above documents the estate entrance in 2011. It predates the recent cellar project and should not be read as a view of the completed new architecture.
The California connection
The Perrin family’s partnership with the Haas family led to Tablas Creek in Paso Robles. Tablas Creek dates the partnership to 1987 and the purchase of its California site to 1989. This creates a useful bridge between Rhône varieties and their life in another landscape.
Follow Bourboulenc for a documented Tablas Creek single-grape example. The connection is one of people, plant material and practical winegrowing questions; it is not a claim that California and the Rhône produce interchangeable wines.
A small Cork Dork discovery
Give your curiosity a little room.
Read the 2021 Roussanne Vieilles Vignes sheet alongside a red Beaucastel release. Separate grape composition, fermentation vessel and maturation before comparing the two wines.
Your observations, your words. Small pours welcome.
A few questions worth uncorking.
Has the Perrin family owned Beaucastel since 1549?
No. The estate’s name has an older history; the modern Tramier–Perrin chapter begins with the 1909 purchase.
Are all its wines multi-grape blends?
No. The cited 2021 Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is documented as 100% Roussanne.
Does the photograph show the recent cellar project?
No. It is an actual estate-entrance photograph from 2011, predating the recent architectural work.
Where shall we wander next?
Rhône Valley →French Wines & Blends →French Grape Varieties →People in Wine →Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wines →Roussanne →Bourboulenc →Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 25 October 2026. Composition, production rules and cellar practices can vary by appellation, producer and vintage. The producer’s notes are the place to check a particular bottle.
Continue the Perrin–Haas connection.
Tablas Creek → follows the partnership into California. Roussanne Wines → explores the documented single-grape white-wine route.