All wines are red except as otherwise stated.
Domaine Les ALEXANDRINS
The label shows G. Sorrel (for Guillaume Sorrel, son of Marc Sorrel of Domaine Henri Sorrel) and A. Caso (Alexandre Caso, described on the website as “a specialist in terroirs of the Northern Rhône”); in 2015, Nicolas Jaboulet (of the family that founded and formerly owned Paul Jaboulet Aîné) and his negociant operation Nicolas Perrin, bought into the operation as well (making it Domaine et Maison Les Alexandrins).
2015 Crozes-Hermitage
This is good, if standard, Crozes with a medium-full body, dark fruit, and some minerality. 13.5% stated alcohol. 88/B+
2015 Saint-Joseph
The estate owns four hectares in Tournon, that is, the original part of the Saint-Joseph appellation. The wine shows dark fruits, a bit of violet, some minerality and stoniness, smoothness, and underlying St-Joseph steely texture. It is correct Saint-Joseph, which already is saying something, but fails to go the extra step to excitement.13.5% stated alcohol. 88/B
Franck BALTHAZAR
2016 Côtes-du-Rhône
This negociant wine is from Syrah and Grenache grapes, sourced from Séguret in the southern Rhône. The wine shows plenty of undeveloped dark fruits, but to my palate is just to alcoholic. I recommend decanting the wine an hour or so before consuming and serving it at cellar temperature. 14.5% stated alcohol. Lot LCDR2016/01. 86/B
2016 Crozes-Hermitage
Also a negociant wine, this Crozes-Hermitage has dark berry fruit, a little minerality, and some elegance in a medium-weight body. It’s enjoyable, but a bit anonymous. Lot LCH2016/01. 13% stated alcohol. 87/B
2016 Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar
This estate wine is 80% from vines less than ten years-old in the La Lègre lieu-dit, the rest from very old (1961) vines in Mazards lieu-dit. The vineyards are in the southern portion of Cornas. It is a lighter wine with intense, focused, mineral dark fruits, but depth is lacking. Despite the tannins, it is a wine that can be drunk young, and indeed, I personally would do so for the fruit. It’s an enjoyable wine to drink, but never would lead you to suspect that great wines can come from Cornas. Lot LCSA2016/1. 13% stated alcohol. 87/C
Sébastien BLACHON
2015 Saint-Joseph Première
Blachon is a recent entrant into the wine area, and a most promising one, based on this wine. He is located in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, one of the three villages of the original Saint-Joseph appellation and is in the process for qualifying for organic certification. This is classic Saint-Joseph with structure and deep, crunchy, pure, and mineral blue fruits. Now that Gonon’s prices are rapidly going through the stratosphere, this is a replacement to consider. 13.5% stated alcohol. Lot LSTJOALBAN2015. 91/A
Emmanuel DARNAUD
2016 Crozes-Hermitage Les Trois Chênes
I’ve found recent vintages of Darnaud’s wines to show more apparent oak than I’d like — I say “apparent" because new oak in Syrah can be very misleading. Here, the oak-like aromas dissipate after an hour or so, which is an encouraging sign. The wine is round, smooth, and easy to drink with blackberry fruit and some other red berries, but ultimately not complex. I’d opt to drink this wine over the next 4-5 years, but it may well age for quite a bit longer. 20% whole clusters, wine raised in barriques and demi-muids. Lot L 01. 13% stated alcohol. 87/B
Domaine Éric et Joël DURAND
2016 Saint-Joseph Les Coteaux
This is young, dense, mineral dark plum-fruited Saint-Joseph with iodide in the nose and a fair amount of tannin palate but also very good intensity and depth. Those less sensitive to tannin can enjoy this wine already for its young fruit, but they will also want to save some for 8-10 years from now, when the rest are advised to start drinking this wine. 13.5% stated alcohol. 90(+)/A-
Domaine des ENTREFAUX/Charles & François TARDY
2015 Crozes-Hermitage Les Pends
Lovely hot stone aromas followed in the mouth by a generous, smooth texture with dark berries and just a hint of spice. Certified organic. Lot L65. 13% stated alcohol. 88/B+
Guy FARGE
2016 Saint-Joseph Passion de Terrasses
Farge has vines in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, one of the original Saint-Joseph villages. He previously had sold to the co-operative and then to Delas. A few years ago, he began making wine on his own, and this is the first one I’ve tried. The wine is filled with plenty of primary, undeveloped dark fruits in a smooth medium-weight body. I put off a bit by the lack of differentiation here, but with substantial airing, the wine shows violet aromas, a medium-weight body, and violet-tinged dark fruits.13% stated alcohol. 89(+)/B+
Lionel FAURY
2016 Saint-Joseph Vieilles Vignes
This will one day make a top Saint-Joseph, but for the moment it is tannic and primary; for current drinking, look to the previously-reviewed regular 2016 Saint-Jo from Faury. This vieilles vignes bottling shows concentration, depth, intensity, and density to its blueberry and other dark fruits, and beneath the tannin, there is a medium-full body with a velvet texture. 13% stated alcohol. 91(+)/A
FAYOLLE Fils & Fille
This is an old estate (from which I have had some excellent bottles from the late 1970s and early 1980s) that had essentially disappeared. Beginning in 2002, Cécile Fayolle Nodin and Laurent Fayolle brought it back to life. The estate produces two Crozes-Hermitage blancs and three rouges, as well as Hermitage rouge and blanc. These two Crozes-Hermitages are the entry-level wines.
2016 Crozes-Hermitage Sens white
This wine is 60% Marsanne, 40% Roussanne, meant to be consumed within 3-4 years of the vintage. It is vinified in stainless steel at low temperatures. Alas, at least in a relatively high acid vintage such as 2016, it comes out as just too generic without the richness and character that a white Crozes should have. There are some floral and citrus notes, but they’re just too diffuse. Lot L.233. 13% stated alcohol. 85(+)/C
2015 Crozes-Hermitage Sens red
Inexperienced tasters may claim to find heavy toasty oak here, but in fact it’s reduction. The wine was fermented and raised in stainless steel. So decant and give the wine time to lose the reduction. The wine is medium-weight with good density of dark fruits. This is not one of the new wave Crozes-Hermitages that are moving up the appellation’s quality perceptions, but it is good for what it is: a simple, pleasurable Syrah. 86/B-
Domaine PERRÉOL/Domaine MONIER/Domaine MONIER-PERRÉOL
This estate in Saint-Désirat, north of the original Saint-Joseph appellation, is certified organic and biodynamic. It sells under all three of the labels. above. Monier Perréol seems to be the official name of the producer.
2016 Saint-Joseph Châtelet
This is a medium-weight wine with a smooth, round texture and dark plum fruit that shows some minerality. There’s no great complexity here (the vines are still relatively young — fifteen years or so old), but it is a most satisfying wine. 13% stated alcohol. Lot 16/07. 88/B
LA TÂCHE
2015 Saint-Joseph Bad Guy
This is the second time I’ve tried a wine from this producer, and both times I’ve had the same reaction. There’s no sulfur added at any point, even before bottling, and the result is a completely ruined wine. There’s nothing here resembling Syrah, much less Saint-Joseph; it’s a do-not-put-in-mouth wine. Some people are able to pull off unsulfured wines (e.g., Allemand, Foillard, Lapierre), but so many, such as this producer, fail and expect the consumer to pay for their failures. In the words of the talented Rhône producer Eric Texier, if you’re not a scientist (which Texier is), you shouldn’t be making unsulfured wine. 13% stated alcohol. No rating/F
Éric TEXIER
2015 Brézème Côtes du Rhône
Here is a wine that is difficult to resist once you take a first sip. It has dark fruits, violets, minerality, and salinity in a medium-light body with excellent acidity. 100% Syrah, it drinks so well now, why age it? But it does have the balance to permit a decade or more of successful aging. So stock up, should you come across this wine. 11-14% stated alcohol. 91/A