Château de Beaucastel : Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2017

This has an exotic bent at first, as it offers up a lovely gush of crushed plum, boysenberry and blackberry fruit flavors, laced seamlessly with sweet black licorice. Then this gains in depth and grip as it moves through the finish, showing accents of apple wood, leather and Turkish coffee and ending dark and winey in feel. Built for the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2040. 52 cases imported.

An immediate, dense fog of blackberry, violet and mashed blueberries rises up out of the glass. There's a touch of iodine, and that animal-tinged Mourvèdre character. This is full-bodied, much denser and more concentrated than the Tradition this year, with great extract and heft, deep-set acidity and great length. Fresh and balanced despite its power, with serious grip. You could drink this now with a charred ribeye, but there's much to gain from waiting; I would suggest from 2029. Around 60% of the blend comes from old vine Mourvèdre from their Courrieux vineyard. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down.

75% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Counoise. The month of January was very cold. In fact, it was the coldest it has ever been in the last five years. There was a sharp rise in temperatures from the beginning of February and towards the end of March. Conditions were much like those in 2014 when the vintage proved to be an early one. A cold spell hit France at the end of April. Temperatures were as low as 3.7 °C on 20 April at Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The appellation then went through a vegetative period that was very hot with maximum temperatures exceeding 30 °C by the end of June (37.6 °C was recorded on 23 June and 40.5 °C on 4 August). The 2017 vintage is therefore the second hottest in the last 20 years, not quite as hot as 2003 but more so than 2015 and 2009. Harvest 4 September to 15 October. Dark glowing purplish crimson. Sumptuous, spicy red wine rather than particularly recognisable as Châteauneuf. Really quite structured. Indeed the finish is pretty chewy. But the fruit is certainly intense and bright. Pretty smart winemaking with spice the dominant note. (JR)

Glass-staining ruby. Dark berry preserves, cherry cola, Moroccan spices and licorice on the intensely perfumed, mineral-accented nose. Palate-staining, sharply focused black/blue fruit, spicecake and candied violet flavors show superb energy for their depth. Picks up mocha and succulent herb nuances with air. It finishes extremely long and smoky, with resonating floral and spice notes and mounting tannins.

Almost opaque in color, the wine is equally dark in its fruit. The wine is not as powerful as expected. Instead, you find more aromatics, elegance, and precision. Lush, soft, and juicy, the dark red fruits, olives, spice, and raw meat leave an impression that sticks with you. Long, intense, and expansive, it feels great as it graces your palate, before leaving you with dark red fruits, olives, peppery spice, and barbecue notes. The wine was made from a blend of 85% Mourvedre, 5% Syrah, 5% Grenache, and 5% Counoise. As the vines continue aging, there will probably be more Mourvedre in the blend in future vintages. Even though there is a softness to the tannins, this is not a wine to drink young. You will need to lay this down for perhaps 15 years or so before all the secondary nuances kick in. This is quite close to the level of the mind-blowing, perfect 2016. In the future, this is going to be great to compare them both, similar to the ’89 & ’90 duo!

On another level, the brilliant 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is just about all Mourvèdre (there are small amounts of Grenache, Syrah, and Counoise) brought up in a large foudre. It reveals a saturated purple color as well as a super-rich, blockbuster-styled bouquet of blackcurrants, blackberries, ground pepper, truffle, charcuterie, and God knows what else. With full-bodied richness, a stacked, opulent mid-palate, building tannins, and a sensational finish, it’s another perfect wine from this team and is unquestionably in the same realm as the 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2016. Give bottles 7-8 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 40-50 years.

The definition is more sun-drenched, with aromas of maquis and garrigue, black olive, spices, truffle and chocolate. The palate shows impressive breadth, with greater generosity than in 2016. The texture is good, the tannins are fine, there is sap and persistence. A good wine for ageing.