Chateau de Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2012

The wine of the vintage is the Perrins 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin, and it will most likely merit a perfect rating in another couple of years. Full-bodied, massive and layered on the palate, with awesome purity and freshness, it delivers incredible aromatics of beef blood, truffle, graphite, iron and black and blue fruits. Given all of the fruit and texture, you almost have to hunt for the structure here, but trust me, it's there. The tasting at Beaucastel took place at 9 a.m., and even then, this is one wine I found impossible to spit. It's a tour de force that will have 3-4 decades of life.