Tasting Notes
Vinous 95+
(a blend of 60% mourvedre, 20% grenache, 10% syrah and 10% counoise) Saturated ruby-red. Highly complex, very primary, inky nose hints at blackberry, black cherry, licorice, spicecake and tree bark; dominated by the mourvedre. Then dense, thick and sappy in the mouth, with brooding black fruit and mineral flavors and superb precision. Hints of meat and leather lurk, but, like the regular release, this is extremely backward and dominated by dark fruits. Offers superb thickness without any excess weight, and a wonderfully seamless, elegant texture. Finishes extremely long, with very fine tannins. A unique critter: a Chateauneuf du Pape with just 20% grenache. Likely to develop in bottle for two decades or more.
Robert Parker 96
I found this bottle of 2001 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage À Jacques Perrin to be slightly behind a recent bottle from my cellar. Nevertheless, it was perfumed and surprisingly open, with gorgeous cedar, charcuterie, truffle, blackberry and currant-like fruit all soaring from the glass. Full-bodied, seamless and supple, with its tannin, fruit and acidity perfectly balanced, it’s just now on the cusp of moving from its adolescent stage into the early stages of maturity. Give bottles another 3-5 years and enjoy over the following couple of decades. The blend here is the classic, foudre-aged mix of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, and 10% Syrah. 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: 2018-2038
JancisRobinson.com 18
60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise and 10% Syrah from old vines on the best Beaucastel plots. Generally only 750 cases made per year. Grapes are destemmed and the wine is aged for 18 months in used French oak barrels. Browning garnet with brick rim. Gorgeously aromatic with bottle-aged aromas of undergrowth, sweetly senescent red fruits, spicy, meaty, soy. Gorgeously fresh and complex and very long. (JH)
Anticipated maturity: 2011-2027
