2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage Jacques Perrin

Deep vivid magenta. A highly complex bouquet displays candied black and blue fruits, incense and musky earth aromas; violet, licorice and Indian spice notes build in the glass. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering deeply concentrated, mineral-laced blueberry, cherry compote, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors that are given spicy lift and bite by a late peppery flourish. Tightens up slowly on a strikingly long, chewy, floral-driven finish framed by dusty, steadily building tannins. (JR)

A great vintage for mourvedre in 2017, it represents 60% of this blend. Picked late, at the beginning of October, this has a very rich, dark-stone, leather, grilled-meat and slate nose with black fruit and wild herbs. The palate has a rich, smooth and long core of noble tannin with a wealth of dark cherries and dark plums. Long, suave tannins command the finish, where there’s a a late kick of spice. Good potential, ripeness and concentration. As with the regular Beaucastel Châteauneuf, the intensity and plushness of tannin is a highlight here.

60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 20% Syrah. Deep crimson, from the outstanding vintage for the southern Rhône. Much more intense and focused than most Châteauneuf. Some very obvious sweetness. And then masses of tannin. Decidedly embryonic but with the sweet warmth of a Châteauneuf, albeit in bundled tightly into an iron corset. (JR)