(Originally published February 2018)
All wines are red except as otherwise stated.
All wines are red except as otherwise stated.
Lionel FAURY
2016 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah
This wine is from vines planted between 1995 and 2007 on a plateau that is higher than Faury’s Saint-Joseph vineyards. The wine is still quite rustic, yet with time attractive, intense blueberry and other dark fruits come out. This is not a wine for haute gastronomie, but for simple meals with pronounced flavors, the wine can be of interest now, and for several years. 12% stated alcohol. 86(+)/B
FERRATON Père & Fils
2014 Crozes-Hermitage La Matinière
This wine is medium-weight with dark fruits, good minerality, and a smooth texture. No real complexity here, but it is enjoyable. I’d drink it over the next 3-5 years. 13% stated alcohol. 87/B
2015 Crozes-Hermitage La Matinière
The 2015 version is medium-light and penetrating with violet-tinged dark berries. The wine is easy to drink now, but it also has the balance and tannins that should allow for 7-10 years’ aging, maybe more. 13% stated alcohol. 89/A-
FRANÇOIS & Fils
2016 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah
The nose and mouth of this wine give very pure dark plum and other dark fruits with a touch of an edge. The wine is medium-light in body and lacks a little depth. There’s also a bitter touch on the finish that hopefully will resolve with a little aging and in any case isn’t really disturbing with food. 12.5% stated alcohol. Lot L30517. 86(+?)/B
Jean-Michel GERIN
2015 Saint-Joseph
This is an estate that I never have visited, as I’ve always found way too much new oak on the Côte-Rôties for my taste. That said, the Côte-Rôtie is highly rated by many other journalists/critics — take your choice. This wine is even more mysterious. First, is it an estate wine? The website suggests that it is without specifically so stating, but the label on the bottle indicates that it was raised and bottled by Gerin, strongly implying that it is a négociant wine. There’s a lot of oak here, and also a lot of structure — thus wood and other tannins to go with intense dark fruit and oak aromas and flavors. I generally abhor highly-oaked Syrah, but I have to say that this wine has its attractive qualities for its incisive dark fruits, and there is a better integration than I am used to seeing for new oak on Syrah. Tasting young wines is always an estimation, and the guesswork is just that much more not having visited and discussed the wine and how it was made with anyone. Bottom line: I don’t know what to say here. There are attractive elements, but there are also some unattractive ones. How will this wine develop with respect to them and overall? I have no prior experience with Gerin’s wines over the long term, or other wines that might be similar, so really can’t offer an estimate. I’d be skeptical, yet I can’t write off this wine completely. 13% stated alcohol. Lot L 1517. ?
Domaine Bernard GRIPA
2016 Saint-Péray Les Pins blanc
If you want a demonstration of how white wine can be superior to red as a cheese pair, here’s your mate. This wine is from vines more than forty years-old on soils of limestone and granite, 80% Marsanne, 20% Roussanne. There’s opulence and velvet to the texture, but a strong acidic backbone to go with the peach fruit. With this balance, the wine can probably age quite well for at least 5-6 years, but it is also delicious now on its own or with a very wide variety of foods. Lot L316. 13.5% stated alcohol. 92/A
2016 Saint-Péray Les Figuiers blanc
About half Marsanne and half Roussanne, vinified and aged in barrels, this is a very different wine from Les Pins above. The wine is rich and opulent with apple and a bit of apricot fruit. It’s a wine to age a while (4-5 years at least?) and then serve with rich foods or with fruits as dessert. Lot L616. 13,5% stated alcohol. 87+/B
Laurent HABRARD
2016 Crozes-Hermitage
This is Crozes-Hermitage that is straightforward and immensely likable. The wine is slightly fat, silky in texture, medium-weight. It has breadth and moderate acidity, but still freshness. Not a complex wine, but it provides good, loyal drinking for now and the next several years. Habrard follows organic practices, and I understand that he does not add sulfur until just before bottling. 13% stated alcohol. Lot CHR 16bio1. 89/A
Domaine JAMET/Cathérine, Jean-Paul & Loïc JAMET
2016 Côtes-du-Rhône
This wine, entirely from Syrhah, is still unformed in its dark fruit flavors and aromas, but it is so seductive already for its density and smooth texture — the wine just rolls off the tongue and down the throat. 13% stated alcohol. 88/A
Domaine MONIER-PERRÉOL/Domaine MONIER/Domaine PERRÉOL
2015 Saint-Joseph
The estate uses all three names above. There’s dark fruit here with minerality and firmness typical of the better wines from the southern half of the Saint-Joseph appellation. The fruit is dark plums. It would appear to be a wine to drink over the middle term, say until 2030. Certified biodynamic and organic. 13.5% stated alcohol. Lot 15/09. 89/B+
Vincent PARIS
2015 Cornas Granit 60
With this wine, Paris seems to have altered his style and gone from a somewhat modernist interpretation of Cornas to a more traditional one, fulfilling the promise that’s always been here. Here, the tannins are less round and more prominent, the fruit deeper and more concentrated but unlike wines in the past, in need of substantial time. The smoky dark fruits are typical Cornas. Lot L1. 14% stated alcohol. 93/A
Stéphane ROBERT/Domaine du TUNNEL
2016 Saint-Joseph rouge
Stéphane Robert hit a grand slam with this wine. It is dense and concentrated with power in a medium-weight body. The wine features dark plum fruit with some violets and a stony texture that is so typical of the best sites of the original Saint-Joseph appellation. You can drink the wine now, but it should be able easily to age 20 years or more. 13% stated alcohol. Lot LP1117. 92/A
Cave SAINT-DÉSIRAT
2016 Saint-Joseph Grand Apollon
The Cave Saint-Désirat is a cooperative that I’ve over the years found to do a decent job with its wines, as is the case here. The wine shows the minerality and the firm, sharp texture that one expects of good Saint-Joseph from the part of the appellation near Tournon. The nose has smoky dark fruits, and there’s no shortage of dark plums in the mouth. 13% stated alcohol. 87/B
Charles & François TARDY
2015 Crozes-Hermitage Les Champs Fourné
This wine has been bottled with quite a bit of CO2 left in it, so it seems unduly acidic upon opening — give it a good shake or a splash decant before serving. This is a dense wine with dark Syrah fruits and quite a bit of power and rusticity, and still quite a lot of acidity even after shaking. You can drink it now, but I expect it to be even better 5 years down the road. Certified organic. 12.5% stated alcohol. Lot L35. 86/B-
François VILLARD
2015 Saint-Joseph Poivre et Sel
This is Saint-Joseph from the northern part of the appellation, near the Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu vineyards. Part is from Villard’s own vines, part from purchased grapes, and average age of the vines is about 20 years. About 60% whole clusters here. The wine has dark fruits with some violets, a medium-weight body, and a smooth texture. All that is correct, but I don’t find any special character or terroir to the wine. 12.5% stated alcohol. Lot LPS15. 87/B