Winemaker Notes
This wine pairs well with fine meats, spicy stews, grilled meats, game and any kind of cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a more savory array of fresh dark spices, woody accents and plenty of pepper, in addition to dried-plum and licorice aromas. The palate's nicely cut with a central focus of long, fine and even-paced tannin that builds to a grippy, smooth finish. Dried-plum and licorice aftertaste. Best from 2018 through to 2025. A blend of several plots in the southern part of the appellation, and 30% is matured in oak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Similar to the Saint Epine release quality-wise, the 2013 St Joseph Cuvee Francois de Tournon offers more richness, breadth and layer compared to the tighter, more focused, granite-influenced Saint Epine. Plum, black raspberry, licorice, cracked pepper and graphite flows to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2013 that needs 3-4 years of cellaring; it will have two decades of longevity. Coming mostly from vineyards around Tournon and Mauves, it spent 12 months in 30% new French oak.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and concentrated without sacrificing cut, this lets a pure beam of raspberry and blackberry coulis rush forth, backed by mouthwatering anise, black tea and iron notes. Latent grip allows the finish to linger. Best from 2016 through 2022.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Spanning the longest stretch of river in the northern Rhône—from Condrieu in the north, to Cornas in the south—the heart of St.-Joseph lies directly across the Rhône River from Hermitage. While its soils are basically the same as Hermitage: granite, supplemented by sand and gravel, its east facing slope receives less sunlight than Hermitage, which causes less overall berry ripening on its Syrah vines. However, some of the best of them can rival any fine expression of Hermitage, Cote-Rotie or Cornas with concentrated black fruits, dark spices, crushed rock and violets. A general advantage of the region is that its Syrahs typically don’t need as much time in the bottle compared to a Cote-Rotie or Hermitage and are much easier on the bank account!
A textbook St.-Joseph red is firm with a core of minerality that is enhanced by savory and peppery qualities. Aromas and flavors of smoke, olives, herbs, and violets are common; its wines are dense in red and black fruit.
St.-Joseph is also a source of fine northern Rhône white wine. Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grow well here and can be blended or made into single varietal wines. St.-Joseph whites are full and silky with citrus, pear and pineapple flavors and a rich bouquet reminiscent of honeysuckle, toasted nuts, spice and caramel.