And last of the 2012 Famille Perrin releases, the 2012 Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Haut de Julien Vieilles Vignes comes from 90-year-old vines from the northern part of the Southern Rhone. Aged 15% in barrel and a blend of Syrah and Grenache, it gives up rich, meaty Syrah-driven notes of smoky black fruits, licorice, cedar and earthiness, with an almost Cornas like rusticity. Medium-bodied, structured and tannic, give it a couple of years and enjoy it through 2022 or so. Drink 2015-2022. Covering a full 175 acres in Chateauneuf du Pape, with significant holdings throughout the Southern Rhone (mostly vinified at and released under their Famille Perrin brand), Chateau De Beaucastel is a benchmark estate that excels at all price points. Looking at the wines reviewed here, 2011 is surprisingly strong (especially for the Chateauneufs) and with their perfumed aromatics and supple textures, they show a lot of similarities to the 2009s. The 2012s as a whole show more freshness and purity, with good concentration, and should require more bottle age to come around. Both vintages are worth seeking out. Looking at the 2011s across the board, all of which were in bottle, it appears to be a strong vintage here. While the vintage suffered due to uneven ripening in the Grenache, it was actually a solid vintage for Mourvedre and this shows, particularly in the Chateauneufs. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

The 2011 Famille Perrin Vinsobres les Haut de Julien Vieilles Vignes is also rock-solid. A blend of Grenache and Syrah that’s from 90-year-old vines and the northern part of the Southern Rhone, it gives up mostly Syrah characteristics with dark berry fruit, licorice, smoke, spice and background meatiness. Medium to full-bodied and impressively concentrated and rich, it’s an outstanding wine and will drink nicely through 2021. Drink now-2021. Covering a full 175 acres in Chateauneuf du Pape, with significant holdings throughout the Southern Rhone (mostly vinified at and released under their Famille Perrin brand), Chateau De Beaucastel is a benchmark estate that excels at all price points. Looking at the wines reviewed here, 2011 is surprisingly strong (especially for the Chateauneufs) and with their perfumed aromatics and supple textures, they show a lot of similarities to the 2009s. The 2012s as a whole show more freshness and purity, with good concentration, and should require more bottle age to come around. Both vintages are worth seeking out. Looking at the 2011s across the board, all of which were in bottle, it appears to be a strong vintage here. While the vintage suffered due to uneven ripening in the Grenache, it was actually a solid vintage for Mourvedre and this shows, particularly in the Chateauneufs. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

2010 年份的 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Vinsobres Vieilles Vignes Les Hauts Julien 由 70 多年樹齡的葡萄樹上的 Syrah 和 Grenache 相同比例混釀而成。此酒極為濃郁，呈深藍色或深黑色，伴有美妙的礦物味，酒體豐滿，酒質華麗而純凈，余味悠長，需要窖藏 3 至 4 年。適飲期：15 至 20 年內(nèi)。（目前仍未上市）

Already bottled, the super-concentrated, superb 2010 Vinsobres Les Hauts Julien Vieilles Vignes has off-the-charts richness. Floral notes intermixed with blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, licorice, truffle and camphor are all present in this superb wine, which is inky bluish/purple to the rim, extremely full-bodied, with great acid and sweet but abundant tannin. This is a wine for patient connoisseurs/partisans of southern Rhone wines. Forget it for 4-5 years and drink it over the following two decades. As I said last year, the Perrin family is a large one indeed, with brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois sitting at the top of the hierarchy and their four sons, Mathieu, Pierre, Thomas and Marc increasingly taking charge of their negociant business and their extensive estates throughout Southern Rhone. Now controlling over 1200 acres, as well as having a network of contracts, this operation is the equivalent of a major Southern Rhone train operating at high speed. Moreover, they are doing some incredible work in all price ranges. Other 2011s that the Perrin boys have produced include the following wines, which were very good across the board, especially for 2011s. In particular, readers need to take a hard look at their estate in Vinsobres, which is making the finest wines of that appellation, and more recently, what they are doing in Gigondas with the estate they purchased there, Clos des Tourelles. These are special wines. There are now three cuvees of Gigondas from the Perrins - the Gigondas La Gille, the Gigondas Vieilles Vignes and the Gigondas Clos des Tourelles. All three merit serious attention. Tasting the 2010s, which were all set to go into bottle right after my visit, certainly shows that this vintage is impressive, although I'm not sure that Marc and Pierre Perrin haven't done as good a job with their selections in 2011. Three cuvees of Gigondas look to all have outstanding potential and will probably be in bottle by the time this report is published. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

The Perrin et Fils 2009 Cotes du Rhone-Villages-Vinsobres Vieilles Vignes Les Hauts Julien is the most brilliant wine produced in Vinsobres. The Perrins now own 140 acres in Vinsobres, and this is the best selection of the oldest vines. I recently had a bottle of the 2007 at the wonderful New Orleans restaurant, Herbsaint, and while it was still young, it was a brilliant expression of cool climate, high elevation Grenache and Syrah. Made from equal parts Grenache and Syrah, the 2009 hits all the palate’s sweet spots offering up notes of graphite, truffles, blueberries, blackberries, licorice and camphor. Full-bodied with crisp acidity, wonderful purity and vivid freshness and delineation, it should drink well for 10-15+ years. (Not yet released) The Perrin brothers, Jean-Pierre and Francois, and their sons, Thomas, Marc, Pierre and Mathieu, have long owned over 200 acres of top sites in Chateauneuf du Pape and can now claim over 1,000 acres in the southern Rhone as their empire under the Perrin et Fils label expands considerably. This is good news for consumers as the Perrins, one of the great winemaking families of France, are dedicated to producing high quality wines, preserving top terroirs, and to providing a range of wines in all price ranges that are as good as consumers can expect. Purchasing a wine from this family is about as close to a guarantee of authenticity and high quality as one can expect. There is no secret to surviving the recent world-wide recession and fragile economy. No matter what field one is in – wine, the service industry, product development, etc., one has to over deliver in order to keep consumers happy. Don’t do that, expect a dwindling economic return and possible failure. The Perrins long ago adopted this philosophy, even in boom times. Speaking of wines that over deliver, readers should be searching out the super inexpensive, bargain priced La Vieille Ferme offerings. The Perrins have put together a terrific portfolio of top wines from the leading Cotes du Rhone Villages. With the exception of the estate wines in Vinsobres, they are all dominated by Grenache. To date, the finest wines have emerged from the 2007 vintage, but very strong efforts have been produced in 2009. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802