Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2021

99 points Matt Walls (Decanter): "Very darkly coloured indeed. An extraordinarily deep and Mourvèdre-heavy fug of a scent; deep, but so fresh and searching. It's not overly full-bodied or heavy. Great surging acidity. It's tannic and will take a long time to soften, but promises great freshness and a long life - don't open too young. Around 60% of the blend comes from old-vine Mourvèdre from the Courrieux vineyard. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration with regular punching down. Drinking Window: 2033-2050. (Oct 2022)"

97 points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is approximately 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 20% Syrah. Marked by scents of truffle and tree bark, great blackberry and black cherry fruit, plus accents of licorice and peppery spice, it's another in a line of terrific wines that have been made every year since 2009. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's velvety but tannic, with enough structure and intensity on the lingering finish to expect at least two decades of cellaring potential (but probably more) Drink: 2025-2045. (10/12/23)"

97 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2021 Hommage a Jacques Perrin is composed of 75% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Grenache, and 5% Counoise. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it pops from the glass with expressive notes of baked black plums, boysenberry preserves, and fruitcake, followed by hints of tar, black pepper, garrigue, and fragrant soil. The full-bodied palate delivers multilayered fruit with impressive grace, featuring fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long with a peppery lift. (8/21/23)"

96 points Jeb Dunnuck: "A blend of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and the rest Syrah, the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin is probably the wine of the vintage. Ripe red and black fruits, smoked meats, cedary garrigue, pepper, and other assorted wild aromatics define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with beautiful concentration, building tannins, and a great finish. It already has some accessibility, but there are enough tannins here to warrant 5-7 years of bottle age. (10/30/23)"

96 points James Suckling: "Very dense, but also vivid with great elderberry, lavender, licorice and allspice aromas. Impressive concentration and power for the challenging vintage. Magnificent follow through at the long structured finish. Best from 2026. From organically grown grapes. (4/23/23)"

95 points Nicolas Greinacher (Vinous): "The full-bodied 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is one of the finest wines of the vintage. Precisely sculpted strawberry, raspberry, crushed violet, licorice, tangerine peel and lavender aromas emerge from the glass. Discrete cedar and black cherry add more dimension. Ripe, almost velvety tannins gently structure this gorgeous 2021—it’s all about class and refinement. This is one of the most Burgundian renditions of this cuvée in recent history. Drinking Window: 2028-2046. (Jun 2024)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "[$450 list] Bold and gutsy, with an exuberant, seductive profile shored up by focused tannins and energy. Delivers a solid core of black fruit and licorice root, spiked with violet and smoked meat and anchored by cast iron mineral depth. Impressive and concentrated through the long, stylish finish. Mourvèdre, Grenache, Counoise and Syrah. Drink now through 2035. 64 cases made. (3/31/24)"

***** John Livingstone-Learmonth (The Cradle of The Rhône): "dark red robe; the nose has a subdued note of cordite, inner spark, which promises well for its freedom in the future. There is a tone of black cherry, with salting, herbs such as thyme present. The palate is just setting out, is very Mourvèdre marked with its close-knit, firm content, and a licorice, prune seasoning. It’s nice and linear, has captured the vintage accurately, and will evolve with interest, perhaps more nuanced than some of the hotter, drier vintages, ebbs and flows possible as it ages – it’s wine for The Thinkers to study and ruminate over. Does it remind me just a little of the 1981 when it was young? From 2028. 2054-56 Oct 2023 Previously Oct 2022 ***** (large barrel) deep robe; the nose is laden with cassis de Dijon, liqueur blackcurrant, makes for a compelling opening, has the blood tendencies of young Mourvèdre, notes of blue fruit present. The link between nose and palate is close, the attack running free as a stallion, giving a provocative, nicely wild dash of cassis fruits, much vitality in its make-up. There is a cool, iodine note on the still understandably tight finish, a good sealed aspect to that, with a classic licorice Mourvèdre linger on the aftertaste, a youthful exuberance there. This is a Châteauneuf of consequence, complex, vivid and interesting, should be in your cellar. 2053-55. Oct 2022."