2015 Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds 750 ml

Rhône Critic Left Pining For a Full Pour

Borrow a trick from serious Rhône collectors and always stock a case or two of an excellent Vinsobres in your cellar. Why? While your fine Châteauneuf-du-Papes are gathering steam, Monday through Thursday you can pour polished, gorgeous reds from this Southern Rhône AOC for easily under $20 a bottle. The 2015 Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds—from the same family behind the legendary Château de Beaucastel and made using the same techniques—is the smash hit of the tiny region and a critical darling. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate predicted it to be an “outstanding wine” which “offers lots of black fruits, pepper and garrigue in a full-bodied, seriously textured and layered style.” Parker’s longtime Rhône expert Jeb Dunnuck said it best: “It made me want to pour a full glass.” You’ll want a full case because this Vinsobres is so good, it’s going to drink itself at just $16.99 a bottle. Shipping included on 9.

Since 1909, the Perrin family has been operating Château de Beaucastel, a name known by nearly every serious wine collector in the world as arguably the greatest Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer, with six 100-point scores from Robert Parker. Along with Bordeaux’s First Growths and the Côte de Nuit’s Grand Crus, Beaucastel’s legendary cuvees like Hommage à Jacques Perrin are some of France’s most sought-after collectibles, thanks to the Perrin family’s precious holdings of Mistral-swept, old-vine Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre.

But with its deep roots in the region, the Perrins—who “routinely produce long-lived classics that are among the finest in the world” says Robert Parker—also knows how to turn out stunning values from up-and-coming appellations. One such AOC is Vinsobres, at the northern tip of Southern Rhône. It’s an area particularly near to the heart of Syrah devotees, as the cooler climate and elevation there produce a rare level of finesse in the grape that is often lost in warmer climes.

Indeed, the 2015 Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds, a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah, brilliantly showcases the spicy, savory sophistication of Syrah while the Grenache lends mouthfilling ripe texture and thick body. The fruit is grown on steep terraces and hills of the estate-owned Les Cornuds vineyard at a height of 984 feet, infusing grapes with high-altitude freshness and verve. 2015—a vintage hailed by local experts like Marcel Guigal as the best vintage of a lifetime—drove this bottle’s value for the price into the stratosphere, as a wet winter kept vines hydrated into a dry, hot spring, making for tiny berries bursting with phenolic compounds.

Given the vintage’s extraordinary conditions, the producer’s historic pedigree, and the price-tag, this is a contender for the best-buy of Southern Rhône.