Matt Walls

Avignon, London

Contributing Editor at Decanter

Freelance wine expert. Contributing Editor @Decanter. Regional Chair for the Rhône @DecanterAwards. New book, The Wines of The Rhône, out now!

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Articles

Château de Beaucastel completes radical €12m cellar project

2 weeks ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

The cost of the ambitious Château de Beaucastel cellar project was €12m (£10m), and an inauguration date of 21 May 2025 has been set. The intention was to extend the winery in readiness for greater capacity in the coming years, but they have used the opportunity to harness the elements – earth, air, sun and water – to greatly reduce their water and energy needs. To achieve this, they employed a range of ancient and modern methods.
Côtes du Rhône Villages Nyons: Where olives and vines are inextricably linked

2 weeks ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

As you drive south from the northern Rhône, you won’t see a sign saying ‘Welcome to the southern Rhône’. There’s no need – you know when you’ve arrived thanks to the sudden prevalence of olive trees. Olives and olive oil are a cornerstone of Provençal cuisine, particularly in the village of Nyons.
Walls: Exclusive first taste of M Chapoutier’s Sélections Parcellaires 2024

1 month ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

Glossaries are normally published at the backs of books. This makes sense: it would be a tedious way to begin any story. But when talking about the 2024 vintage in the Rhône, it might be useful to start with a list of viticultural diseases and their effects. Because in 2024 the Rhône faced a barrage of problems. When I met with Maxime Chapoutier to taste his 2024 Sélections Parcellaires on 19 March in London, he told me that it was the toughest growing season he’s ever witnessed.
Walls' hidden gems: Domaine Mayard, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

1 month ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

Did you know there is a website where you can compare the average prices of vineyard land across France? Here are some examples, per hectare of vines in 2023:Touraine, Loire: €7,000 (£5,880)Côtes du Rhône: €23,000 (£19,315)Gigondas, Rhône: €215,000 (£180,530)Côte d’Or, Burgundy: €983,800 (£826,080)Pomerol, Bordeaux: €2,000,000 (£1,679,420)The website is published by a French government agency called SAFER, whose job it is to regulate land prices in rural areas.
Walls: 19 vintages of Beaucastel's white Rhône masterpiece

1 month ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

As we walked through the winery at Château de Beaucastel, I asked César Perrin if he minded if I took some photos. ‘Sure,’ he said, ‘but we’re not allowed to take any of the actors.’Between two sorting tables laden with purple grapes were lighting rigs and a camera crew all focusing on two glamorous individuals staring into each other’s eyes. They were filming the latest episode of the TV series Drops of God. You never quite know what to expect at Beaucastel.
My other passion: Orchids... with Florent Lançon of Domaine de la Solitude

2 months ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

Florent Lançon of Domaine de la Solitude is renowned for his excellent Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In his spare time, he collects orchids. ‘It started when I was young – 12 or 13 years old,’ says Lançon. ‘I went to England on holiday. We were visiting a lot of castles and I was so bored! But I did enjoy the Victorian greenhouses.’ It was there that he discovered orchids. When he returned home, he started buying plants.
Matt Walls: Domaine de la Mordorée's La Plume du Peintre; then and now

2 months ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

Like all insufferable dads, the other day I was lecturing my son about the music I grew up with, so I played him some early jungle over breakfast. In retrospect, some of it sounds like a drum kit falling down the stairs, but a few tracks, despite their radical style, have stood the test of time. It’s not just music that goes through different styles and fashions, wines do too. Take Châteauneuf for example.
Walls: The best new Côtes du Rhône wines under £20

2 months ago | decanter.com | Matt Walls

Could a Côtes du Rhône ever score 100 points? There’s no reason why not. In fact, Domaine Gramenon scored 97 points in the recent 2023 Rhône vintage report. Score inflation? No; the wine deserved it on merit.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2020: Best-value wines

Dec 23, 2024 | decanter.com | Matt Walls

A friend of mine once described Chablis as both the best- and worst-value wine in the world. What he meant was the cheapest wines weren’t very good – but still fairly expensive in the grand scheme of things. But despite the quality of the greatest examples, the prices never (or very rarely) reached the heights of other top white Burgundies, making the best bottles excellent value for money. You can say a similar thing about Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Revisiting 2020 in bottle

Dec 9, 2024 | decanter.com | Matt Walls

I remember tasting the 2020 Châteauneufs after they’d spent a year in barrel. It wasn’t the joyful experience it perhaps should have been, as winemakers often appeared subdued. It wasn’t due to the quality of the wines, but rather the timing of my trip; I was visiting them just as they’d finished picking their 2021s – a punishing vintage, marked by cool conditions, low yields and patchy quality. The 2020s in my glass however were often outstanding.