Winemaker Notes
Vineyards in the village of Ardoix about 30 km north of Cornas in the central part of the appellation.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Saint Joseph Les Côtes from Paris is a beautiful, elegant wine that shines for its complexity and balance just as much as power and richness. Classy Saint Joseph blue fruits, violets, and damp rock-like minerality all define the bouquet, and it's nicely textured, silky, and elegant on the palate. I love the balance, and while it's going to be hard to resist on release, it should keep for over a decade, if you're so inclined. The Les Côtes is all destemmed and brought up in a mix of used barrels and stainless-steel tanks.
Range: 91-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Saint Joseph Les Cotes is forward, plush and silky, with oodles of ripe cherries. It's full-bodied but does show hints of granitic restraint and a briny freshness that comes to the fore on the lengthy finish. While approachable young, it's not just a simple fruit bomb, there's some substance beyond the flesh.
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.