Winemaker Notes
#92 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2024
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Saint-Joseph, crafted from 40% purchased grapes and the rest from Graeme and Julie's vineyard located in the north of the appellation in the commune of Chavannay, offers up a floral, delicate bouquet of violet, dark berries, mulberries and fresh licorice with air. Medium to full-bodied, dense and round, it's layered and seamless with a textural core of fruit and velvety, fine-grained tannins that finish long and ethereal.
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Wine Spectator
Complex and very well-crafted, with good weight and ripeness to the black fruit, hibiscus and cured sausage flavors. Elements of crushed aniseed, coffee and baking spices add nice richness, with charred mesquite smoke wafting through. The tannins are nicely sculpted and firm, with a bitter cherry note ringing out on the long finish, which is cut with precision
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Jeb Dunnuck
Darker fruits, ground pepper, and roasted meats all emerge from the 2022 Saint Joseph, which includes 30% whole clusters and was aged 15 months in French oak barrels. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated, with ripe tannins. Rating: 92+
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.