(Originally published 26 May 2018.)
The wines from 2016 generally have more acidity and freshness but less sensuality than their 2015 counterparts. Both make for very good drinking for serious Rhône drinkers.
The wines from 2016 generally have more acidity and freshness but less sensuality than their 2015 counterparts. Both make for very good drinking for serious Rhône drinkers.
Étienne BÉCHERAS/Le PRIEURÉ D'ARRAS
Bécheras’s vines are mostly located around Arras, north of the original Saint-Joseph appellation. But his wines bring credibility to this sector of the appellation. Those looking for Northern Rhônes that follow in the style of the best producers from the 1970s and 1980s (and presumably before) should seek out these wines.
2015 Crozes-Hermitage rouge
Bécheras’s vines are principally in Arras, but his Crozes-Hermitage comes from Mercurol, the center of quality Crozes-Hermitage. This wine is floral in the nose. The mouth features pure red and dark cherry fruit in a medium-weight body with good freshness. 90/A
2014 Saint-Joseph rouge
The 2014 Saint-Joseph displays pure red fruits. The wine is not as open as the Crozes (probably more due to vintage difference than terroir), but it is juicy and typical in character of my experience of the wines around Arras. 88/B
2014 Saint-Joseph Tour Joviac rouge
The 2014 Tour Joviac shows firmness and density to its dark fruit, again with character typical of Arras. 89/B+
2015 Saint-Joseph rouge
Bécheras’s 2015 Saint-Joseph shows greater density and darker fruit, as one expects given the differences of the vintage. The fruit here is darker than in the 2014 and envelopes the mouth. 90/A-
2015 Saint-Joseph Tour Joviac rouge
Last, Becheras’s 2015 Tour Joviac is dark in fruit, dense, and penetrating with earthiness in the good sense of that word. Some years in the cellar will only make this wine even better. 91+/A
Yves CUILLERON
This estate has grown to an astounding 52 ha. The wines can still be described as modernist in style, but less so than they used to be, which is a good thing in my estimation.
2016 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Marsanne Les Vignes d’à Coté
This Marsanne has typical lime aromas and flavors in a medium-weight body. The wine is linear and lacks some depth, but it is good for what it is. 87/A-
2016 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Roussanne Les Vignes d’à Coté
The Roussanne is spicy and floral with apricots in the nose — typical Rousanne. The apricots continue in the mouth, which is round, but like the Marsanne, lacking the depth of a still better wine, but good for what it is, especially considering that Rousanne is a difficult grape in the Northern Rhône. 89/A
2016 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Viognier Les Vignes d’à Coté
The Viognier has yellow peach aromas. The mouth is smooth and succulent but a bit closed in its white peach fruit. 86/B
2016 Saint-Péray Les Potiers
Cuilleron’s Saint-Péray, Potiers is medium-weight with spice, apricot and peach aromas and flavors and good freshness. 88(+)/B
2016 Saint-Joseph Lyseras blanc
Here we have honey aromas and flavors with some apricot. The wine is round with moderate acidity. I would call it more modernist in style than any of the preceding wines. 88/B
2016 Saint-Joseph Le Lombard blanc
The Saint-Joseph Le Lombard is tender in the mouth with elegance and good intensity and length. It seems to spread out as it sits in the mouth. 90/A-
2016 Saint-Joseph Digue blanc
This wine has greater intensity than the two previous Saint-Josephs, but for the moment it the peach fruit is relatively closed and the wine seems somewhat disjointed. It needs more time to come together. 87+/B
2016 Condrieu La Petite Côte
This Condrieu, too, is relatively closed for the moment. The wine has peach fruit and is not in the flamboyant style that one sometimes finds in Condrieu. 87(+)/B
Switching to the reds:
2015 Saint-Joseph Les Pierres Sèches rouge
This wine has red fruits, especially cherries, and some stoniness but it is still tannic and I’d cellar it 3-5 years before drinking. 88/B
2015 Saint-Joseph Cafanos vieilles vignes rouge
The Saint-Joseph, Cavanos shows more breadth and darker fruit than the Pierres Sèches, and also more tannin. I’d expect to wait 5-7 years for this wine to start to drink well. 89/B+
Christophe CURTAT
Those who regularly follow my Northern Rhône commentaries know already that I am most enthusiastic about Curtat, who only took up producing wine in 2005, when in his early forties. These are wines that are pure and precise, and they will especially appeal to Rhône lovers who appreciate Burgundy. There isn’t much available, but should you come across them, jump on them.
2016 Saint-Joseph Sous l’Amandier blanc
Curtat’s white Saint-Joseph is most unusual because it is composed 90-95% of Roussanne. Northern Rhône producers express admiration for the grape, but their wines generally are mostly or all Marsanne because Roussanne is difficult to grow in the region. The wine has weight but is light on the palate, and it is delightful for its spiced apple and developing apricot fruit and sensual texture. White Northern Rhônes shouldn’t be served too cold, and that’s especially true in this vintage of high acidity where the cold temperatures will cause a seeming imbalance of acidity 60ºF/15-16ºC is about right, and decanting an hour or so prior to serving should be helpful. 13.5% stated alcohol. Lot L01. 90+/A-
2016 Crozes-Hermitage Fées des Champs
This wine is intense, dense, and concentrated with red fruits, especially cherries, that are ripe, but not jammy or syrupy. The acidity gives and overall freshness to the wine, and there is lightness on the palate, along with good length here. It is a Rhône for Burgundy lovers, and it should continue to improve over the next few years, even though it is delicious already. 13% stated alcohol. Lot L01. 90(+)/A
Lionel FAURY
2016 Saint-Joseph blanc
The vineyard here is planted 60% Marsanne, 40% Roussanne, although the percentages in the wine can be different, reflecting the growing conditions of each vintage. The wine is raised 30% in oak casks that are 1-5 years old, 70% in stainless steel. This is classic Saint-Joseph with a steely texture, incipient white peach and pear fruit, and good tension and energy. The producer suggests drinking within the first five years. Also, don’t drink this too cool — 55-58ºF would be ideal. This wine accompany cheese, fish, fowl, and pork, among other things. 13% stated alcohol. 91/A
2016 Collines Rhodaniennes L’Art Zélé Syrah
This is Faury’s fancier Collines Rhodaniennes. It has lavender and violet aromas with dark fruit flavors, a medium-weight body, some firmness but also some smoothness of texture, and some minerality. I’d drink this wine over the next 5 years or so. 12.5% stated alcohol. 87/A-
2016 Saint-Joseph rouge
This wine shows good concentration with dense, somewhat dark plum and violet aromas and flavors. There’s some spiciness here, too, which is typical of Saint-Joseph reds from the area near Côte-Rôtie, as is the case here. The wine is still somewhat primary, though, and should only benefit with a little bottle aging, and then continue to hold for a number of years. 13% stated alcohol. 91/A