CDP Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Perrin - Château de Beaucastel 2013

Readers looking for the best of the vintage should check out the 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin as it has more fruit, texture, and density than anything else out there. A classic blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, and 10% each of Syrah and Counoise, it has a cooler, classic, mineral-laced style as well as ample blue and black fruits, scorched earth, new leather, and ground pepper aromas and flavors. Inky colored, full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it needs a solid 7-8 years of bottle age and will keep for 25+ years. (Drink between 2027-2052)

Extremely aromatic with blueberry, blackberry, and flowers. Full body, dense and rich yet agile and exciting. The tannins are seamless and beautiful. The finish shows stone and spice. The ancient mouvedre in the blend gives this wine elegance. incredible depth. So drinkable now but goes on for minutes. Fantastic Hommage from a more challenging vintage.

The 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is a beast of a wine that’s shed most of the baby fat it showed from barrel. A normal blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, and the rest Syrah and Counoise, this tiny production release has incredible minerality to go with searing black and blue fruits, forest floor, smoked earth and leather. Full-bodied, inky, concentrated and backwards with a serious kick of tannin, it will need a decade of cellaring to be approachable. I suspect it will have 2-3 decades of longevity. Drink 2025-2055.

The same can be said for the 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin, as this insanely impressive barrel sample transcends the vintage. Full-bodied, decadent and layered, with massive concentration and purity, it’s loaded with black and blue fruits, violets, truffle, licorice and assorted floral notes. This cuvee always shows fabulous fruit in its youth, and it doesn’t start to gain its hallmark gaminess until after a few years in bottle. In addition, this cooler vintage, with its ample moisture and autumn summer, produced Mourvedre with off-the-charts aromatic purity and perfect ripeness. It will clearly be in the top 1-2 wines and will have 3-4 decades of longevity.