The Northern Rhone is the ancestral home to Syrah, and family-run wineries dominate it. Names like Chapoutier, Chave, Perrin, and Guigal top the family tree here. There used to be another, too: Jaboulet, which was sold in 2006.
Nicolas Jaboulet has returned to his roots, and he had brought a new adopted family with him: The Perrin family, which owns the famous Chateauneuf du Pape winery Chateau Beaucastel.
This is not news. The collaboration Maison Nicolas Perrin has been going strong since 2009. What’s changed is that their beautiful Crozes-Hermitage is now in the PLCB Wine & Spirit Stores, and it’s priced very well.
It’s a beautiful Syrah with a savory core of spice and minerality. It has some serious beef-and-smoke muscle and plenty of dense black fruit. The finish moved into burnt cedar. Taut and suggestive, this is a keeper.