Famille Perrin ‘Les Sélections Parcellaires’, Vinsobres `Les Hauts de Julien`

For five generations, the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel have produced quality wines in the Southern Rhône. They have always taken a vineyard-led approach, championing classic and lesser-known appellations while utilising organic practices to express a distinct sense of place in their wines. This has earned them a reputation as one of the region’s most respected producers.

For the Luberon Rosé and Luberon Blanc, the Perrin family work closely with their growers to achieve optimal freshness. The fruit is sourced from the Parc Régional de Luberon, situated in the south-east of the Rhône Valley. Here, a combination of cooler climate, an elevation of 300 metres and limestone marl soil gives the wines a lively acidity. The Luberon Rosé blends Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Vermentino, offering a subtle floral and red-fruit character. The Luberon Blanc is a blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne and has vibrant citrus notes complemented by a mineral finish.

The Ventoux Rouge hails from the slopes of Mount Ventoux, where high elevations again provide key freshness to this blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah. The finished wine is fragrant with juicy red fruit, balanced by soft, ripe tannins.

The Perrin family manage the vineyards for both of their Côtes-du-Rhône wines. The Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc is sourced from the clay-limestone soils of Cairanne and Jonquières, which provide the wine with a mineral freshness. The blend comprises Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, vinified in stainless steel. The red blends Grenache and Syrah from the cooler climate of Vinsobres, supplemented with Mourvèdre from Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Saint-Maurice. Characterised by notes of redcurrant fruit and black pepper, the wine is aged in both stainless steel and oak barrels for 12 months to lend it extra weight.

Only 20% of the Côtes-du-Rhône region is permitted to add the word ‘Villages’, which signifies the best vineyard sites within the region. The Côtes-du-Rhône Villages uses the same viticulture and vinification techniques employed at Château de Beaucastel. Made from Grenache and Syrah, planted on stony terraces over clay and limestone, it is a poised wine which typifies the very best of this region. Maturation is equally split between stainless steel, oak foudres and oak barrels for 12 months. This wine delivers excellent value and is characterised by notes of pure redcurrant fruit and Provençal herbs balanced by ripe and sleek tannins.

Famille Perrin ‘Les Sélections Parcellaires’

The Vinsobres ‘Les Hauts de Julien’ results from the Perrin family’s commitment to shining a light on the complexities of the best sites in the Southern Rhône Valley. Unusually, this single vineyard is co-planted with 90-year-old Grenache and Syrah vines, which generally ripen together, permitting a single harvest. Organically farmed, the vineyard is positioned on hillside terraces of limestone rock, stony soils, and varying amounts of clay, which lends the wine both concentration and a stunning purity of fruit. The location of Vinsobres, at the northernmost limit of the Southern Rhône, combined with an elevation of 300 metres, provides a cooler climate for Syrah. The grapes are co-fermented and then transferred to French oak barrels just before fermentation ends, after which the wine ages for 18 months. The resulting wine is perfumed and elegant with notes of black olive, cocoa and sweet spice bound by tightly wound tannins and intensely concentrated fruit.