Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 92
Similar to the 1995, the 1994 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage À Jacques Perrin (70% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 10% Grenache, and 5% Counoise) comes from a vintage that had a hot summer (even hotter than 1995), followed by heavy rains on September 17th during harvest. Due to the warming growing season, ripeness was further along here, and this vintage favored those that harvested prior to rains. Probably the least impressive wine in the lineup, the 1994 offers a savory, complex profile with lots of garrigue, cured meats, Provencal herbs and sweet red and black fruits. It’s medium to full-bodied and concentrated, but there’s a slight dry edge to the tannin that gives me pause, and this is a wine I’d opt for drinking over the coming 4-5 years while there’s still ample fruit. Coming mostly from a plot of old vines located behind the estate, the Perrin Family’s Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin was first created in 1989 and is a tribute to the late Jacques Perrin, who passed away in 1978. Aged all in foudre and normally a blend of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise and the rest Syrah, it’s only produced in top vintages and there’s normally a scant 400-500 cases to go around. It’s an incredible, yet atypical Châteauneuf du Pape due to its high Mourvèdre content. While most vintages require upwards of a decade of cellaring, the more forward, sexy vintages can certainly be enjoyable in their youth as well.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2020
