Enveloping nose of super-ripe orange, pomegranate and cigar leaf that’s still very youthful and needs time to reveal its myriad nuances. Also notes of licorice, dried herbs and rose petals. Enormous concentration, silkiness and finesse on the expansive palate. Extravagant in the best sense of that word! The finish gets finer, the closer it gets to infinity. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
98 POINTS
Nicolas Greinacher - Vinous
The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is a monumental effort. It dazzles with pristine aromas of rose water, crushed violets, red and black cherry, blueberry, forest strawberry, licorice, dried lavender, bay leaves, sage, black olive and cardamom. Firmly formed like a skyscraper, the wine continuously builds on the palate, exposing layer upon layer of jewel-like fruit. As the taste develops, pixelated tannins enter the scene, adding to the wine's seamless mouthfeel. Despite the elevated flavor concentration, the wine is so light on its feet that tasting it is an almost ethereal moment. Kudos to César Perrin and his team for making one of the wines of the vintage.
98 POINTS
Joe Czerwinski - Wine Advocate
Tasted from foudre, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is approximately 60% Mourvèdre (from the same parcel, year after year), with the balance a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Counoise. Ripe plums and truffle-like notes mark the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and rich, with a long, velvety finish. Showing even more complexity and length than the regular bottling, there's a chance this could reach a triple-digit score down the road.
Drink 2025 - 2040
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (May 2022)
98 POINTS
Georgina Hindle - Decanter
Gorgeous florality on the nose, fresh rose petals and sweet red fruits, so beguiling and tempting. Beautiful fragranced fruit on the palate, the roses really continue all the way, edging the fruit and giving the palate such scent. Tannins are smooth and well integrated and this has a gorgeous texture, full and generous but silky smooth and so delectable. Excellent acidity gives freshness and energy and underpins the flavours giving a lovely hit of spiced liquorice, caramelised nuts and cola cubes. Feels really well worked, intense and concentrated but excellent definition and focus. A stylish and seductive wine. Hold onto for a few years. 5% Counoise completes the blend.
Drink 2025 - 2048
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (Jul 2022)
97 POINTS
Matt Walls - Decanter
Closed for now, but very Mourvèdre in style: dense, dark and brooding. Great intensity but not as tannic as some vintages, showing lovely acidity, freshness and purity. This is a classic, compact and fresh style of Hommage, with great energy, plus endless length and depth. 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.
The deep, inky hued 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is up with the crème de la crème in the vintage and just screams Mourvèdre with its layers of blue fruits, pepper, iron, and gamey, wild herb aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied, has terrific purity, building tannins, and a great finish. It will have some educational appeal in its youth due to its balance and purity, but it deserves a decade in the cellar.
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (Mar 2021)
96 POINTS
Jane Anson - New Bordeaux
Beaucastel continues to set the bar for what Châteauneuf du Pape can do, and it is delivering a superb 2020 vintage of Hommage à Jacques Perrin here, using grapes from a dedicated 4ha of the property. Characterful smoked earth, dried herbs, grilled blackberry and blueberry fruits, immediately setting out the effortless way that these soils cope with the heat, and turn it into an important part of the personality. Relax and take your time with this wine, as it stretches out, deepening as it goes. So much complexity and teasing power. Director Charles Perrin, winemaker César Perrin.
Drink 2024 to 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (August 2022)