| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Rhône > Southern Rhône > Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Potentially the wine of the vintage, the 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin had just been bottled two weeks before my visit. A wine of extraordinary density, richness, precision and unreal flavor intensity, it reveals abundant gamey, meaty notes intermixed with smoked duck, Provencal herbs, blueberries, blackberries, kirsch and licorice. This loaded, multidimensional, massively concentrated 2009 is much softer than most Hommages. It should be drinkable in 3-4 years and keep for 30-40 years thereafter. Kudos to one of the world's great winemaking families!
Coming from older vines and composed of 70% Mourvèdre and the rest an even split of Grenache, Syrah, and Counoise, the 2009 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is younger and more unevolved, revealing ripe blue fruits, violets, cured meats, and graphite. It's full-bodied and concentrated, with remarkably sweet, pure fruit on the palate, a beautiful mid-palate, and fine, focusing, sweet tannins. This killer wine is still youthful, with a blockbuster finish. It’s one of the most youthful wines in the vintage, and well-stored bottles will clearly keep for another two decades. Drink: 2025-2044.
The 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin (60% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah and the rest Counoise and Grenache) may turn out to be the wine of the vintage. Its opaque purple color is followed by notes of camphor, smoked herbs, sweet, smoky, gamy meat, blueberries, blackberries, cherries and licorice. The wine possesses enormous richness, but it is never heavy or overbearing. With exquisite precision, an extraordinary finish and a fabulous texture, this is another prodigious example of this cuvee, which was launched in 1989 (that wine is still an infant at age 21). The 2009 should have 50+ years of longevity ... at a minimum.
