2017 Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds 750 ml

The Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds is a wine that Rhône enthusiasts famously stockpile by the case when they can find it—a marvelously polished invitation to some of the finest fruit and winemaking prowess in this region of France.

This Southern Rhône blend is made by the Perrin family, the clan behind the legendary Château de Beaucastel, which is considered by many to be the greatest estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 

The Perrins “routinely produce long-lived classics that are among the finest in the world,” according to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Their best wines, like the collectible Hommage à Jacques Perrin, frequently fetch 100-point scores and prices of up to $1,000 a bottle. 

The spicy, full-bodied 2017 boasts a 92-point score from Wine Spectator (which praised its “good juicy energy through the finish, revealing latent depth”). It’s deals like this that get us excited to come to work each day. 

Jean-Pierre, François, and Pierre Perrin have a deep affection for the mistral-swept terroir of Vinsobres. At the northern end of Southern Rhône, it’s an area perfectly suited to Syrah, as the cooler climate and higher elevation there produce a rare level of finesse that’s often lost in warmer climes. Notes of violet, blackberries, and smoked meat are classic giveaways of a Vinsobres red.

Les Cornuds seamlessly blends the spicy, savory sophistication of Syrah with Grenache’s mouth-filling, ripe texture and full body. The fruit is grown on steep terraces and hills of the estate-owned Les Cornuds vineyard at nearly 1,000 feet in elevation, infusing grapes with high-altitude freshness and verve.

2017 was the driest vintage in 30 years, which limited yields and infused the grapes with round concentration and depth. The year “has turned out to be a brilliant vintage” says Rhône expert Jeb Dunnuck, who believes it is surpassed in quality only by 2010 and 2016 in recent decades. In this bottling, the vintage highlights both the limestone elegance and the richness of the sandy marl Vinsobres soils.

Given the vintage’s optimal conditions, the producer’s historic pedigree, and the price tag, this renowned release has cellar-stuffer written all over it.