ChateaudeBeaucastel,HommageaJacquesPerrinChateauneuf-du-Pape2009

First created in 1989 as a tribute to the late Jacques Perrin, only made in the very best years with old vine Mourvedre from their Courrieux vineyard. Production is extremely limited with only around 350 cases made at a time. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down.

(70% mourvedre and 10% each of grenache, counoise and syrah, all raised in foudre): Glass-staining purple. Hypnotic bouquet of black and blue fruits, potpourri and exotic spices. Broad, sappy and strikingly pure, with intense blackberry and boysenberry flavors that reach ever corner of the palate. Rich but lithe wine with a seamless texture and superb finishing clarity. This wine’s marriage of power and vivacity is something else. Josh Raynolds, Vinous (96)

Very intense and dense. Intriguing red pepper, beef, black cherry, allspice and juniper character. Plenty of tannin, though they have been massaged into digestible form. Long, chocolate and baked black fruit finish. Both incredibly intense yet incredibly nuanced. Richard Hemming MW, Jancis Robinson (18.5)