Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin complete vertical: 1989 – 2017

Every year or so the Perrin family, owners of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, open an impromptu vertical tasting of their top wine ‘Hommage à Jacques Perrin’.

A little while ago I received a phone call from their office to tell me a tasting was being planned. ‘When are they doing it?’ I asked. ‘Today’ was the reply. I stopped in a lay-by, rescheduled the day’s meetings and turned the car around.

Scroll down for Matt’s Hommage à Jacques Perrin vertical tasting notes and scores

Until 1989, it was customary for Châteauneuf-du-Pape estates to make one single red wine rather than an array of different cuvées. But the quality of the wines that year inspired a few producers to bottle a cuvée spéciale.

Château de Beaucastel was one of them, and their ‘Hommage à Jacques Perrin’ has since established itself as one of the of the greatest and longest-lived expressions of Châteauneuf.

Despite this, Marc Perrin says he’s not keen on describing Hommage as a cuvée spéciale. He says that these prestige bottlings are often ‘made to be impressive young rather than to age – and we’re in the opposite approach.’ Rather than a barrel selection, Hommage is an expression of one of their oldest vineyards, known as Courrieux. Unusually for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it’s planted with Mourvèdre rather than Grenache, and the vines are particularly old, planted in 1909.

‘It was an incredible vintage,’ says Marc of 1989, and when they tasted the tanks from the Courrieux vineyard it stopped them in their tracks. ‘When we did the blend, we thought it was so extraordinary we couldn’t blend it in with the rest,’ he says, and they decided to dedicate this new wine to his grandfather, Jacques Perrin.

Jacques was a strong believer in Mourvèdre at a time when it was rarely seen in Châteauneuf, bolstering their plantings with cuttings taken from leading Bandol estate Domaine Tempier. It’s a variety that needs a lot of sun, and full phenolic ripeness wasn’t always guaranteed this far north. ‘But like many things in life,’ says Marc, ‘when it’s difficult, but you achieve it, you get incredible results.’

Marc’s grandfather was also a pioneer of organic viticulture in the region, working this way since 1974 (they now farm biodynamically, but are only certified organic.) ‘He made the decisions that made Beaucastel what it is,’ says Marc. He was an imposing, strong figure who was forward thinking, who enjoyed yoga and meditation.

To begin with, Hommage was only made in vintages that were hot enough to fully ripen the grapes. Since 2009, that’s been every year. They make around 6,000 bottles a year from yields of 13 to 15hl/ha.

The grapes are picked in October, destemmed, then fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down. They aim for a gentle fermentation, ‘as long as possible,’ says Marc, then the wine is aged for a year in small 2nd or 3rd use foudres to avoid extracting any additional tannins. The wine is fined before bottling but not filtered.

Originally the blend was 60-70% Mourvèdre from Courrieux, softened by their best Grenache, Counoise and Syrah. In more recent vintages this figure has approached 80%.

For Marc, the key to quality is the age of the vines. Mourvèdre vines that are less than 50 years old can give tannins that are ‘a bit edgy,’ he says. Older than this and ‘you go into a completely different dimension’ with much softer tannins and a different fruit expression.

The result is a complete, harmonious and powerful Châteauneuf with a particular darkness, depth and remarkable longevity.

Though you could drink Hommage young, it starts to take on real interest after 8 to 12 years depending on the vintage, and a typical vintage will last for at least 20. I have no doubt the greatest vintages such as 2016 and 2010 will still have plenty to say after 40, perhaps even 50 years in bottle.

The most recent vintages, certainly since 2014, have been remarkably consistently. In fact, since 2005 only the 2011 has been anything less than excellent. The duo of 1994 and 1995 are less elegant than most, and only the 1999 disappoints. They are all still drinking well – only the 1999 and the fast-maturing 2003 need drinking up. Even their first vintage, the 1989, still has plenty to offer.

As for the 2019? ‘Another fabulous vintage for Mourvèdre-based wines, and Hommage in particular,’ says Marc. This is a cuvée that proves just how good this Provençale variety can be in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Jacques would be proud.

See Matt’s Hommage à Jacques Perrin vertical tasting notes and scores

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