2013 Vinsobres Les Hauts de Julien Vieilles Vignes
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Tasting notes
Dark ruby. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes black and blue fruits, licorice and candied flowers, joined by an emerging suggestion of olive. Smooth, sappy and expansive in the mouth, offering intense blueberry and floral pastille flavors sharpened by a suggestion of cracked pepper. This reminds me quite a bit of a wine from the north. Closes smoky, sweet and quite long; sneaky tannins lend shape and grip.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
A big step up over the Les Cornuds, the 2013 Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres les Hauts de Julien is parcel selection of Syrah and Grenache from the cooler, windy Vinsobres region located in the northern part of the southern Rhône. Inky colored and mostly opaque, it reveals gorgeous, northern Rhône-like characteristics of black and blue fruits, pepper, violets and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless, with building tannin and a great finish, it can be enjoyed today, but will benefit from short term cellaring and have a decade or more of longevity.
Modern, sweet fruit and expressive vanilla oak. Lots of winemaking in evidence, but it is recognisably Rhône too. Reasonably brief finish. (RH)
About the producer
This Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate is one of the Rhône’s most famous addresses. With a history stretching back to the 16th century, Beaucastel remains family owned and run, with the fifth generation of the Perrin family – Marc, Pierre, Thomas, Cécile, Charles, Matthieu and César – at the helm today.