Famille Perrin Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2021 Rhône Valley - France

So much ripe damson-plum and blackberry fruit, but also notes of licorice, candied ginger and baking spices. In spite of all the considerable power and concentration, this is anything but loud or domineering, rather it tastes very poised and precise. Very long finish with pronounced stony character. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold

Immediately rich and damson-scented with a shot of cassis running through it. A medium-bodied, very classic vintage with good freshness. Has a good sense of weight and drive, not endlessly deep like 2017 or 2016 but perfectly balanced. Should age well into the medium, if not long term, but what's more important is that it's extremely delicious, balanced and fresh. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre. A little less Syrah this year.

96 Points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape is the usual blend of roughly 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties that was brought up in foudre. It offers a vivid ruby/purple hue as well as stunning aromatics of blueberries, violets, peppered beef, leather, and spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant, it has just a kiss of classic Beaucastel wild, sauvage nuances, ripe, silky tannins, and a great finish. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two decades. Rating : 96+

This is pretty gorgeous, with a remarkably pure display of cassis, cherry puree and plum reduction flavors laced every so gently with threads of leather, alder and dried garrigue. The sleek iron spine is buried deeply on the finish, and there’s a lingering hint of warm stone as the fruit echoes through. Built to last. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Vaccarèse, Terret, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Bourboulenc, Picardan and Roussanne.

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