2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Marc Perrin told me that he feels blessed that his family’s 100 acres of vines are planted to such a diverse array of varieties, especially Mourvèdre, since so many recent vintages have suffered short Grenache crops and many of his neighbors’ production levels have been way off in years like 2014 and 2013. In those vintages spring frosts and hail caused often sever damage to the early-ripening Grenache fruit so it was a big advantage to have later-ripening varieties to compensate for a smaller-than-normal harvest, he told me. Mourvèdre is also a great variety to use to bring structure to Châteauneuf-du-Papes made in hot vintages, when the Grenache’s ripeness can sore and the resulting wines run the risk of coming off flabby. That’s clearly the case with the 2015s here as the wines possess more firmness than other examples from the region, which means that they should age very well, which is always a hallmark of this iconic estate. The 1989, from another hot vintage, like 2015, is drinking fabulously right now, and it shows no sign of falling apart any time soon.