2020 - Chateauneuf-du-Pape Chateau de Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin

The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is a monumental effort. It dazzles with pristine aromas of rose water, crushed violets, red and black cherry, blueberry, forest strawberry, licorice, dried lavender, bay leaves, sage, black olive and cardamom. Firmly formed like a skyscraper, the wine continuously builds on the palate, exposing layer upon layer of jewel-like fruit. As the taste develops, pixelated tannins enter the scene, adding to the wine's seamless mouthfeel. Despite the elevated flavor concentration, the wine is so light on its feet that tasting it is an almost ethereal moment. Kudos to César Perrin and his team for making one of the wines of the vintage.

A blend of 75% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Grenache, and 5% Counoise, the 2020 Hommage a Jacques Perrin is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of swirling to unlock notions of tar, chargrill, Sichuan pepper, and black truffles, giving way to a fragrant core of black cherries, boysenberries, and tapenade with a touch of rose oil. The full-bodied palate is firm with taut, rounded tannins texturing the densely laden black fruits and savory layers, delivering great freshness and loads of earthy layers on the finish of this beautiful wine.

Beaucastel continues to set the bar for what Châteauneuf du Pape can do, and it is delivering a superb 2020 vintage of Hommage à Jacques Perrin here, using grapes from a dedicated 4ha of the property. Characterful smoked earth, dried herbs, grilled blackberry and blueberry fruits, immediately setting out the effortless way that these soils cope with the heat, and turn it into an important part of the personality. Relax and take your time with this wine, as it stretches out, deepening as it goes. So much complexity and teasing power. Director Charles Perrin, winemaker César Perrin.