Vieilles Vignes St. Joseph Syrah

Checking in on the 2016. Nose is all olive. Bacon as well. Super granite and also feral and primal. Wow. Gorgeous developmental. Some gravy. So meaty. So olivey. So N. Rhone. Classic. Palate is ripe, rich and chiseled in the 16 style. Lean and gorgeous filigree. Good depth, fresheners and impressive mid palate amplitude. Tannins clamp down initially but will mellow out. Juicy and very long. Superb.

Young and killer. The best value in St. Joseph. It cannot be debated. Nose is gorgeous with roasted herbs de Provence, black berry, huge mineral core, so layered and elegant. Amazing finesse. Flowers. Just an outrageous nose. Massive, backwards and so juicy. Awesome power, depth and concentration. Huge fruit soak on the finish. So fresh and granitic on the finish and what a finish it is! Just a sick wine. Give it 5 years. Best since 17 and 15.

Just had 15 and it showed out of its mind and now the 18 which I haven’t had since barrel. Nose is brooding. Big ripe, plum, blackberry, boysenberry, liquer like aromas. Sense the richness of the vintage and the old vines. Superb granite, pepper and spice. So killer. Elegant, dense and substantial. So pure and juicy. Nimble even but you can tell there is a solid core of fruit and structure. Showing 50% of what it’s got now. I’ll be back. Solid 9.3 now.

Picking up density and richness while remaining fresh as a daisy. Ripe, substantial and generous tannins.

Lithe and flavorful. Nose has smoky granite, dried violets, dark berries. So nice. Broad and intense in the mouth, but in a lighter weight style. Turns clingy and savory in the long finish. Great balance. Love this. In a great spot right now.

Beautiful nose and one of the great vintages of this wine. Dark and red berry fruit, spice, smoke, leather, mint, earth and granite. Palate is ripe and so juicy with an incredibly opulent texture. Such freshness and balance. Velvety and beautiful tannins with terrific sweetness but not too sweet. A mineral sweetness among with gorgeous berry fruit. Terrific wine and oh so young. Value city.

This is juicy and iron-y and feral. So much flavor but in a lithe package. Great balance. Nice length. Great value!

17 is gonna blow some minds. Huge nose of blackberry fruit, classic, deep granite, menthol and even pine. So aromatic. Smells deep. Incredible power and concentration. Superb freshness and depths. Loads of blackberry and deep rich fruit. Awesome acids. Amazing purity. Epic value. Terrific structure and depth. Will age 15+ years.

Been a quick minute since I’ve had this one. Lovely nose of red berries and blackberries. Very precise. Loads of mineral granite crunch. Love 2014. Juicy and vibrant with great precision and terrific acidity. Good core of concentrated black and red fruits. Such purity. Very long and elegant. Can and will age 10+ years. Peppery finish as well.

A lean but intense wine. Medium volume nose has lots of granite and dried beef. In the mouth it’s intensely clingy and savory, with a slight bitterness. Some very nice blackberry skin fruit too. Finishes long, with lots of fine-grained tannins coating the mouth. Nice balance. Very good value.

2016 is a great vintage in the N.Rhone that no one cares about. A shame. Gorgeous nose of red and blackberry fruit. Lovely bit of earthy granite stuff. Deep and sleek. Palate is serving up youthful and elegant fruit with wonderful hidden structure and depth. Always such a brilliant wine. Fresh, sappy and on point. Elegant and ripe tannins. Terrific concentration, black pepper and complexity.