Tasted three weeks after bottling, I couldn´t quite bring myself to give the elusive three-digit score to this admittedly super wine. Perhaps once the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin has been in bottle a bit longer, as Mourvèdre seems to go into a bit of a funk when recently bottled. For now, it´s merely profound, packing in savory, mossy nuances, hints of exotic dried spices like star anise and cardamom and layers of rich, plummy fruit that manage to be full-bodied and deliciously intense without being weighty or overwrought. Creamy, lush, intense and long, it´s a tdf (tour de force) in CdP.

This storied property continues to hit on all cylinders. Marc Perrin describes 2017 as "a ´Californian´ kind of vintage," but also says, "It´s amazing how balanced the wines are. Across the board, these are the best pair of vintages since 89/90. I love the balance … and the best word for 2016 is purity. I don´t think we´ve done a better vintage since I´m part of it." Certainly, the wines are breathtaking at the upper levels, but the Perrin family continues to put effort into the entry-level wines as well, from the Coudelet de Beaucastel, which is always one of the top Côtes du Rhône wines, to the other wines reviewed under the Famille Perrin heading.

Score: 99+? Joe Czerwinski (JC), The Wine Advocate (WA), September 2018