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. While 2013 and 2014 are no doubt difficult vintages, this is still a brilliant lineup of wines from the Perrin Family. When speaking about 2014, Marc Perrin commented that there was a lot of mildew pressure and they had to work extremely hard in the vineyard. Yields were down 40% due to dropped fruit, and I think their commitment to quality shows in the wines. The estate excelled in 2013 as well, and both their classic Châteauneuf du Pape and the tiny production Hommage a Jacques Perrin are some of the wines of the vintage. Looking at precipitation between recent vintages, 2014 received 900 millimeters and 2013 slightly less at 700 millimeters (600-650 is average).