All wines are red unless otherwise stated.
Éric et Joël DURAND
2016 Saint-Joseph Le Lautaret
This wine is more extracted and closed than the Coteaux bottling that I previously have reviewed. The nose is floral. The mouth is full-bodied with a velvet texture and mineral dark berry and plum fruits. It’s a wine to hold in the cellar five or more years before it begins to reach its peak. 14% stated alcohol. 90+/A-
2016 Cornas Prémices
Quite a bit of reduction here at first. On the second day, the wine shows a powerful body with deep, unformed, rustic dark fruits. Expect to wait 8-10 years on this wine. This wine is from younger vines. 13.5% stated alcohol. 90/B+
2016 Cornas Confidence
For the Cornas, Confidence, the vines are older and on granite soils in the Tézier and La Côte lieux-dits, yielding a more concentrated wine. The nose is perfumed with dark plum blossoms. In the mouth, the density, weight, and dark plum fruits scream Cornas. The polished tannins add a note of modernity, but not too much. 14% stated alcohol. 93(+)/A
Guy FARGE
Guy Farge for many years was a member of the Cave de Tain Cooperative. He then left the cooperative and sold to Delas. Beginning in 2007, he started up on his own, and recently (mid-2018, I believe) his son Thomas has taken over.
2017 vin de pays de l’Ardèche Bouquet de Blanc (white)
This wine is a mixture in approximately equal parts, of Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. The result is a medium-weight wine with some richness and spicy apricot fruit. Delicious as an aperitif or with fish and white meats. Stated alcohol: 13%. 88/A
2016 Saint-Joseph Vania (white)
This wine is 80% Marsanne, 20% Roussanne, raised half in 400-liter barrels that are five years-old, half in stainless steel. The wine is lively and spicy with apricot fruit in a racy body. 88/B
2017 vin de pays se l’Ardèche Bouquet de Syrah (red)
Those who like riper wines than I do might find this 100% Syrah underripe, but to me it shows nervy lavender-tinged dark fruits with some richness of texture in a medium-weight body. There’s firmness here, but it’s not a tannic wine and perfect for informal meals over the next 4-5 years. 12.5% stated alcohol. 87/A
2016 Cornas Harmonie
This is excellent Cornas with soy/smoke aromas and flavors, intense dark fruits, minerality, and a bit of creaminess to the texture. The wine can be drunk now for the fruit, but has the balance and structure to age for two decades or more. Mostly from the Reynaud lieu-dit, a little from Saumen; no destemming; raised in 400-liter casks, mostly used. Vines are 40 years-old on average. Yield was 35 hl/ha. 13% stated alcohol. 92/A
FERRATON Père & Fils
2016 Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Paradis
Ferraton is owned by Chapoutier but run separately, and estate wines, such as this, are biodynamic. Paradis is one of the prized Saint-Joseph vineyards west of the town of Mauves. For the first three days after this bottle was opened, the wine showed massive reduction. By the fourth day, there’s some mineral dark fruit showing in a rather powerful, medium-full body. This wine, accordingly, presents risk, and at the least the willingness to wait a very substantial amount of time. 13% stated alcohol. ?
Jean-Claude MARSANNE
2016 Crozes-Hermitage
Although Marsanne justly is best known for his Saint-Joseph, he does have some vines in the Crozes-Hermitage appellation. This might be called good beginner’s Crozes, although experienced drinkers will appreciate it for its well-made craft. The wine has red berry fruits in a medium-light body with good precision and balance, but no complexity or sense of terroir. 12% stated alcohol. Lot L01. 87/B
Vincent PARIS
2017 Saint-Joseph Les Côtes
This is modern-style Northern Rhône, but in the good sense. The tannins are round and smooth and the wine has deep black currant fruit, but there is no showing of oak here. The wine does lack some concentration and personality, though. There’s some reduction in the nose, so a decant would be a good idea. I have no experience with aging of Paris’s Saint-Joseph, so I would opt for drinking over the next five years for the fruit. Lot L 1. 12.5% stated alcohol. 87/C