The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is approximately 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 20% Syrah. Marked by scents of truffle and tree bark, great blackberry and black cherry fruit, plus accents of licorice and peppery spice, it's another in a line of terrific wines that have been made every year since 2009. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's velvety but tannic, with enough structure and intensity on the lingering finish to expect at least two decades of cellaring potential (but probably more).

A blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and the rest Syrah, the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is probably the wine of the vintage. Ripe red and black fruits, smoked meats, cedary garrigue, pepper, and other assorted wild aromatics define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with beautiful concentration, building tannins, and a great finish. It already has some accessibility, but there are enough tannins here to warrant 5-7 years of bottle age. One of the stalwarts of the appellation, Château de Beaucastel continues to produce an incredible array of wines from their estate in the northwestern edge of the appellation. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the 2022s are ripe, sexy wines that bring to mind 2019 or even 2009. The whites are absolutely brilliant, and while only tasted from barrel, the 2022s will certainly be incredible wines. The 2021s also showed well and possess more depth and density than most in the vintage. In general, Mourvèdre seemed more challenging in 2021, but you certainly wouldn’t have that impression after tasting at Beaucastel. The closest comparison here for the 2021s would be the 2008s, which are balanced, elegant wines that are still drinking beautifully today. The 2021s should be a step up in quality, although I suspect they will evolve along a similar trajectory. Lastly, the estate is wrapping up a massive renovation of the cellar that was built with sustainability front and center and will be using an evaporative cooling mechanism with stored rainwater.

The quality of the 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is impossible to ignore, almost cruising at the same high altitude as the 2020. Aged in foudre and made from the usual blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 20% Syrah. The 2021 Hommage à Jacques Perrin displays fragrant violet, blackcurrant, red and black cherry, blueberry, thyme, lavender, licorice and mint aromas. Full-bodied, polished and enveloped in an intricate web of velvety tannins, it concludes with excellent persistence on the complex finish.

Fragrant summer berries and wild flowers on the nose. Rich and concentrated on the palate, not heavy or too weighty, the tannins remain sleek, fine and just supportive with the liquorice and toasted spice and red berry fruit doing most of the talking. It's maybe missing some extra depth on the mid palate, this is still direct and focussed, sleek and all in one line, but there's power, intensity and grip to the elements with a long finish. Feels a touch hot on the finish. 5% Counoise completes the blend.

One of the original big name French wines on the Place de Bordeaux, now joined by many others but still leading the pack in terms of prestige and quality. Juicy, powerful, seductive, a ton of spice, underbrush, red cherry, bilberry, cumin, toasted oak, incense, powerful liqoruice and cocoa. So much complexity but also so much lightness of touch, just love this wine and its lyricism. Winemaker César Perrin effortlessly handles a vintage that had plenty of challenges.

Cask sample. Pure and intense cassis, blackcurrant nose – a leafy and earthy crushed blue-fruit note beneath. A supple palate with a herbal savoury note, thrilling fresh acidity throughout and fine restrained and dusty tannins. The energy throughout is superb – excellent concentration of crushed cassis, earthy spice, liquorice and a layered, extremely long finish. So much energy and purity in this wonderful wine. (AC)