2013 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage Jacques Perrin

Dark purple. Ripe cherry, dark berry liqueur and candied licorice on the deeply perfumed nose, lifted by a smoky mineral quality. Broad, sweet and seamless on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors and a subtle touch of dark chocolate. Shows superb energy and focus on the finish, which is given shape by slow-building tannins and sharpened by a jolt of juicy acidity. The interplay of power and finesse is quite impressive.

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.