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Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2018
Dessert (fortified sweet white, vin doux naturel)France2018
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-07-10 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.3 average · world avg price US$27 · A vin doux naturel from the southern Rhône, on land once owned by Bernardine monks.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 4 critic reviews: 90. Wine Enthusiast describes the 2018 as a blend of 75% white and 25% black Muscat à Petits Grains, pale pink in hue, with peach and blood orange. Vivino lists no critic score.
Market note: World average US$27 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). The 2018 appears at one retailer in France at US$24.56 (tax incl.). The house's Hommage cuvée is US$40 (86).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“머스켓이라 모스카토를 기대하고 마셨는데 첫 느낌은 비슷한 점들이 꽤 있었다. 하지만 중반 이후로 미네랄 느낌과 피니쉬가 길면서 볼드해지는데. 머지. 하면서 바틀을 보니 알콜 15% 주정강화 였군요. 더 공부해야 겠어요.”
Show original
“apricot peach lychee honey tropical stone 머스켓이라 모스카토를기대하고 마셨는데 첫느낌은 비슷한점들이 꽤있었다. 하지만 중반이후로 미네랄느낌과 피니쉬가 길면서 볼드해지는데.. 머지.. 하면서 바틀을보니^^ 알콜15% 주정강화 였군요 ㅎㅎ 더 공부해야 겠어요~~ㅎㅎ”
What I learned today: sweet doesn't mean light.
Friday. Past nine and the seats still hadn't emptied. Passing between customers, Master Seo set a small glass in front of me and gave me a question. How many degrees? Don't tell me the taste — just the number.
Apricot, peach, honey, orange peel. The first sip was sweet and light. Like Moscato, so I was about to say five degrees — but after I swallowed, the back of my throat slowly warmed. A stony coolness stayed in my mouth, too. Twelve, I corrected, and Master Seo shook his head. That warmth opened a Friday night in July.
Twenty-one, the second Friday night of July. Dad poured a little from a cloth-wrapped bottle into two small glasses. I took a sip and asked if it was the same as the sweet one we'd had on the balcony in spring. Similar, isn't it, Dad said, nodding. But from his second sip, his head began to tilt, little by little. He stared into his glass for a long while, then lifted a corner of the cloth, peered at the bottle, and laughed out loud to himself. Then he covered it back up. Didn't you know either, Dad? I asked. He only laughed instead of answering. I don't know the name of the bottle.
I opened the notebook to that date. Since it was Muscat, he'd expected Moscato. The first impression was similar, but from the middle on, the minerality and the long finish turned bold. Then, "looking at the bottle", he found it was a fortified wine at fifteen degrees. Must study more, he wrote. Four stars. The bottle was Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. That night, I wasn't the only one drinking blind.
Master Seo's answer was fifteen. It's a wine where grape spirit is added partway through fermentation to stop it, he said, so the sweetness stays and the alcohol rises. Minjae, stuck with a stock count, sent a message: fifteen degrees — isn't that about the same as soju?
After closing, I wrote the name on the thirty-first page of the new notebook. In the aroma column: 'apricot, and warmth at the back of the throat'. What I learned today: sweet doesn't mean light. And there were days when even Dad only found out by looking at the bottle.
What this wine is
Domaine des Bernardins takes its name from the land's former owners. According to its American importer, Kysela, the property belonged to Bernardine monks before becoming a wine estate. Today it is farmed by the fifth generation of the Castaud family. Louis Castaud laid the groundwork for the estate's wine and is said to have helped Muscat de Beaumes de Venise win its appellation (AOC) in 1945. His granddaughter Elisabeth Hall and her husband Andrew run it now.
Beaumes-de-Venise is a small village beneath Mont Ventoux, at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The estate grows white and black Muscat à Petits Grains together on 15 hectares, and Wine Enthusiast gives the 2018 as 75% white and 25% black.
'Vin Doux Naturel' on the label is the heart of the wine. While the juice is fermenting, grape spirit is poured in to stop the yeast. The sugar not yet converted stays as sweetness, and the alcohol climbs to around 15%. Moscato d'Asti, made from the same Muscat family, takes the opposite road: fermentation stops early and it stays around 5%.
What the world says
The four critic reviews gathered on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 90. Wine Enthusiast noted a pale pink hue, peach and blood orange and a faintly bitter finish, with alcohol and acidity keeping things in balance. Vivino lists no critic score.
On Vivino the 2018 averages 4.3 from 407 ratings: 102 fives, 250 fours, 49 threes, two twos and four ones. The label as a whole averages 4.1 from 5,004, and of the 19 recorded vintages the 2018 is the highest. The suggested window is 2022–2028.
Tree fruit such as apricot and peach leads the aroma mentions (266), followed by orange and orange peel (147), honey and stone (139), lychee and mango (86), and honeysuckle and acacia (81). Vivino has no structure data or food pairings for this wine.
"Perfect sweetness that is not too overpowering (for a fortified wine)" — Vivino review, Jul 2021, 4.5
How I drank it
July 10, 2020, 4 stars. I wrote down apricot, peach, lychee, honey, tropical fruit and stone.
Since it was Muscat, I expected Moscato. The first impression had quite a lot in common with one. But from the middle on, a mineral feel came up and the finish lengthened, and it grew bolder and bolder. What's this, I thought, and looked at the bottle: a fortified wine at 15% alcohol. I wrote that I must study more.
My 4 is a little below the Vivino average of 4.3. Three months earlier I'd given Manfredi Moscato d'Asti 2017 a 4, and six days later I gave La Spinetta Bricco Quaglia Moscato d'Asti 2018 a 4 again. So I drank the same Muscat family at 5% and at 15% in turn. The promise to study, at least, I kept for that week. Two days before, I'd given Gimonnet Gonet Millésime 2011 a 4.
Vivino community data
2018 vintage rating distribution (407 ratings, average 4.3)
| 5★ | 102 (25%) | |
| 4★ | 250 (61%) | |
| 3★ | 49 (12%) | |
| 2★ | 2 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 4 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Tree fruit | 266 | apricot 97 · peach 68 · apple 32 · pear 22 · melon 15 |
| Citrus | 147 | orange 62 · orange peel 23 · citrus 14 · lemon 13 · marmalade 9 |
| Honey & stone | 139 | honey 113 · stone 14 · honeycomb 6 · minerals 3 · earthy 1 |
| Tropical fruit | 86 | lychee 37 · tropical 14 · mango 13 · pineapple 13 · passion fruit 5 |
| Floral | 81 | honeysuckle 20 · acacia 12 · perfume 11 · orange blossom 10 · elderflower 7 |
Structure:
Average by vintage (all vintages: 5004 ratings, average 4.1)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4.1 | 31 |
| 2007 | 3.9 | 30 |
| 2008 | 3.9 | 81 |
| 2009 | 4.1 | 65 |
| 2010 | 4.2 | 106 |
| 2011 | 3.9 | 122 |
| 2012 | 4.2 | 248 |
| 2013 | 4 | 182 |
| 2014 | 4.1 | 312 |
| 2015 | 4 | 391 |
| 2016 | 4.2 | 417 |
| 2017 | 4.2 | 404 |
| 2018 | 4.3 | 407 |
| 2019 | 4.2 | 607 |
| 2020 | 4.2 | 503 |
| 2021 | 4.1 | 185 |
| 2022 | 4.1 | 162 |
| 2023 | 4.1 | 103 |
| 2024 | 4 | 58 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Muscat de Beaumes de Venise?
A vin doux naturel made from Muscat à Petits Grains in the village of Beaumes-de-Venise in the southern Rhône. Grape spirit is added during fermentation to keep the sweetness and raise alcohol to about 15%. Domaine des Bernardins 2018 averages 4.3 on Vivino (407 ratings), with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 90.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's world average is US$27 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). The 2018 appears in France at US$24.56 (tax incl.).
What food goes with it?
Vivino has no food data for it. Reviewers mostly drank it as a dessert wine; with apricot and peach at its centre, it suits fruit tarts or blue cheese.
How is it different from Moscato d'Asti?
Both come from the Muscat family, but they go opposite ways. Moscato d'Asti stops fermenting early and stays a lightly sparkling wine of around 5%; Muscat de Beaumes de Venise has spirit added mid-fermentation and becomes a fortified wine of around 15%.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Kysela Père et Fils — Domaine des Bernardins
- Wine-Searcher — 2018 Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
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