Côtes du Rhône Beatus Ille 2024 Famille Isabel Ferrando

The Côtes du Rhône Beatus Ille 2024 from Famille Isabel Ferrando is the most joyful and accessible cuvée from a domaine among the most admired and demanding in the southern Rhône Valley. Its name is a declaration of philosophy: Beatus Ille — "How happy he is" in Latin, drawn from an ode by Horace celebrating the man who lives in harmony with nature. This is exactly what this wine embodies: solar generosity, brilliant fruit, and disarming honesty, born from biodynamic viticulture pursued with the rigour usually reserved for grand crus. Rated 93/100 by James Suckling for the 2024 vintage, Beatus Ille demonstrates that a Côtes du Rhône can reach the precision and complexity of an ambitious terroir wine.

Terroir and vineyard

Beatus Ille comes principally from a parcel called La Lionne, located in the Sorgues district, at the immediate southern boundary of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, just steps away from one of the world's most celebrated wine regions. The soils consist of red clays and rolled stones, the typical substrate of the southern Rhône that absorbs the day's heat and releases it gently at night, ensuring slow ripening and remarkable aromatic concentration. The blend is composed primarily of Grenache from old vines averaging over 70 years of age, complemented by Cinsault from the La Lionne lieu-dit and a touch of Syrah from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape parcels proper. The entire vineyard has been farmed under certified organic agriculture since the domaine's founding, and certified biodynamic since 2022. Vinification is pursued without compromise: harvest with native yeasts, six months ageing in non-epoxied concrete vats, no new wood, to preserve the fruit and vitality intact.

Tasting profile

The colour is brilliant ruby with violet reflections, luminous and translucent. The nose is immediately expressive and seductive: intense aromas of fresh raspberry, wild strawberry, black cherry and blueberry mingle with floral notes of violet, touches of white pepper and Provençal garrigue. With aeration, more complex notes of vegetable char, soft smoke and oriental spices enrich the bouquet. On the palate, the wine is both supple and profound, with remarkable drinkability: the attack is juicy and fruity, the tannins fine and of remarkably silky grain, and the fresh, vibrant acidity brings energy and tension to generous matter. The finish is long, balanced and subtly peppery, with this return of lavender and tart red fruits that marks the great Grenaches of the Rhône Valley. A wine of rare harmony and elegance for its rank.

The domaine

Isabel Ferrando released her first vintage in 2003 under the name Domaine Saint-Préfert in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, after acquiring 13.2 hectares on the Serres parcel, one of the appellation's hottest zones. Taken under the wing of the legendary Henri Bonneau, who encouraged her to vinify in her own style without compromise, she built over two decades an international reputation rivalling the greatest names of Châteauneuf. In 2023, her daughter Guillemette joined her at the domaine, marking entry into a new family chapter now united under the name Famille Isabel Ferrando. The domaine's Grenache vines average over 70 years old, and some Mourvèdre date from the 1920s. As critic Jeb Dunnuck notes, one thing remains constant from vintage to vintage: the remarkable quality that continues to emerge from this winemaker's work.

Food pairings

This Côtes du Rhône Beatus Ille pairs beautifully with a fine grilled lamb chop with garrigue herbs, roast chicken with thyme and garlic, Provençal daube, lamb skewers marinated in mild spices, or a cheese board of aged Pélardon or old Cantal. Served slightly cool at 15–16 °C, it will reveal all its vivacity and brilliant fruit, perfect too as a summer aperitif wine, in the generous and solar spirit that is this cuvée's signature.