Winemaker Notes
The St-Julien en St-Alban has a palate of black pepper mixed with a touch of allspice. Plenty of well-integrated black and blue fruits with a mineral driven backbone and soft, luscious tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Opaque ruby. Highly perfumed cassis, blueberry, violet, olive and smoky mineral aromas show fine clarity and spicy lift. Smooth and energetic on the palate, offering concentrated black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors that are supported by a core of juicy acidity. Shows appealing sweetness on the persistent finish, which features building tannins and lingering blue fruit and floral notes.
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.”
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.