Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne
Saint-Joseph Syrah
St. Joseph, Northern Rhône, Rhône, France
Just a classic drop dead nose. Big olives. Green and Kalamata. Almost a tapenade mixed with black and red berry fruit. Some wonderful game notes. Awesome granite and tiny stone minerality. By far the most open 18, at least aromatically I’ve had in a while. Palate is ripe and a super juicy with blood red berry fruit that is vivid and super pure and then finishes with a mean granitic streak. Then more fruit after that with olive and a granite undertone. This is classic, fantastic and complex. JC Marsanne deserves more attention for this bottling. Maybe best bottle I’ve ever had from him.
After a few hours this lost a touch of precision. 9.5 to 9.4.
Just a classic drop dead nose. Big olives. Green and Kalamata. Almost a tapenade mixed with black and red berry fruit. Some wonderful game notes. Awesome granite and tiny stone minerality. By far the most open 18, at least aromatically I’ve had in a while. Palate is ripe and a super juicy with blood red berry fruit that is vivid and super pure and then finishes with a mean granitic streak. Then more fruit after that with olive and a granite undertone. This is classic, fantastic and complex. JC Marsanne deserves more attention for this bottling. Maybe best bottle I’ve ever had from him.
After a few hours this lost a touch of precision. 9.5 to 9.4.
Nose: blackberry flower. Blackberry liquor. As this opens candied lilacs.
Palate : intense blackberries liquor. Hand crushed very ripe blackberries. Intense. … big vanilla. Lots of spice as this opens.
A well made biggish wine. Great for steaks or pork chops or duck.
Nose: blackberry flower. Blackberry liquor. As this opens candied lilacs.
Palate : intense blackberries liquor. Hand crushed very ripe blackberries. Intense. … big vanilla. Lots of spice as this opens.
A well made biggish wine. Great for steaks or pork chops or duck.
2018 vintage. Initial nose with a trace fecal component that blew off 2-3 mins after opening. Heavy metal body. Nose reformed to feature grounding/hot Szechuan pepper, traces of fresh ginger, heaps of bramble fruit and watercress. Lengthy, astringent, iodine-laced and plummy. chocolate, kirschy finish. Almost imperceptible cedar and tobacco hovering about that may gain more prominence in the coming years but for now, they’re on the back burner. Sounds totally disjointed and wild but it works. Last tasted 4.8.22.
2018 vintage. Initial nose with a trace fecal component that blew off 2-3 mins after opening. Heavy metal body. Nose reformed to feature grounding/hot Szechuan pepper, traces of fresh ginger, heaps of bramble fruit and watercress. Lengthy, astringent, iodine-laced and plummy. chocolate, kirschy finish. Almost imperceptible cedar and tobacco hovering about that may gain more prominence in the coming years but for now, they’re on the back burner. Sounds totally disjointed and wild but it works. Last tasted 4.8.22.
May 29th, 2022
An absolutely wonderful St Joseph. Decanted 8+ hours which I’d recommend at this point. Very glad I have some more in storage to try in a few years. Inky dark, excellent dark fruit with some great olive / earth / pepper notes, great mouth feel, nice long finish, all comes together very well. Delicious.
An absolutely wonderful St Joseph. Decanted 8+ hours which I’d recommend at this point. Very glad I have some more in storage to try in a few years. Inky dark, excellent dark fruit with some great olive / earth / pepper notes, great mouth feel, nice long finish, all comes together very well. Delicious.
Jul 25th, 2021