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Vinsobres VV Hauts de Julien, Perrin - Château de Beaucastel 2017

Tasting Notes

Consistently one of the gems of the Southern Rhône, I always feel the 2017 Vinsobres Les Hauts de Julien has a slightly Northern Rhône-like style. Cassis, black cherries, violets, spring flowers, and menthol notes all emerge from this deep purple-colored beauty. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, and opulent on the palate, it has ripe, polished tannin, a layered texture and gorgeous purity.

93/95
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, August 2018

A perennial favourite at Farr, the 2017 Vinsobres exudes blackberry and violet fruits on the nose thanks to the Syrah in the blend. On the palate these darker fruits and dried flowers are layered with juicy strawberries and raspberries. There are waves of spiciness, an almost szichuan pepper note that adds a layer of exoticism to the finish. The acidity is bright and hermonising, but this is glossy, slick and refined through to a long, deep finish. Beautifully balanced and very moreish.

95
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, October 2018

Like the les Cornuds bottling, the 2017 Vinsobres Les Hauts de Julien is a 50-50 blend of Grenache and Syrah. It's co-fermented, then divided into foudre and barrels for aging (half in each). With its toasted coconut and cocoa aromas, it comes across as a bit exotic, but it adds plenty of mixed berry fruit and hints of dried spices. There are only 5,000 bottles of this full-bodied, richly textured wine for the world, so fans will have to move fast to secure some once it's released. 2020 - 2030

94/96
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (239), October 2018

Cask sample. Lots of toasted spice and smoke from barrel influence on the nose. The only one of the Perrin wines were oak is overt, in fact. Ample fruit on the palate, long spiced finish and full but balanced structure with digestible tannic fuzz. Possibly too oak-reliant? But this may well right itself once in bottle.

17+
Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, November 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.