Saint-Joseph Syrah

Wagyu pairing

Popped and poured; consumed over two days. Consistent notes throughout. The 2018 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave "Saint-Joseph" pours a deep purple color with an almost opaque core. Medium+ (high?) viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, a little reductive and loaded with black, blue and red fruits, deli case, black olives, cocoa, purple flowers and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, rich and savory. Alcohol is high but it's in balance. This was a great pairing with grilled lamb chops. Drink now with patience or enjoy through 2038. FWIW, this bottle was enjoyed alongside a 2016 Christopher Tynan Syrah "Judge Family Vineyard" and while this bottle of Chave Saint-Joseph was really, really good. The Tynan was special.

A wine I will order whenever I see it, no questions asked. 19 is fire rn!

The Emperor has no clothes. 15% and showing it. Smells hot. Refined hot wine. Really a bad showing.

I met up with a buddy who is a huge Napa guy. It’s what he knows and to his credit, he has great knowledge of producers and has good taste. We decided to grab a bite at Buvette and he asked if I would pick out the bottle. He said he trusted my judgment, so I walked over to the Rhone wall and noticed the 2019 Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph. Knowing the style, I figured it would touch some of the things he would be familiar with, particularly right now in its youth.

Popped and poured; no formal notes. The 2019 Saint-Joseph pours a deep purple color that stains the glass. On the nose, the wine is fresh and redolent of ripe black fruits and some blue fruits: blackberries and other dark brambly fruits along with some blueberries. The non-fruits were also there: beautiful purple flowers, black pepper, rocky minerals and some lovely vanilla and baking spices. On the palate, the wine was big, full-bodied and had great structure, nearing that medium+ range across the board. The acid is fantastic and the finish was long and savory. It’s easy to draw comparisons between Chave and Gonon as anymore, they share a similar price point and both are known leaders in the appellation. From my perspective, the Chave S-J comes across a bit more focused on the fruit, floral and spice characteristics while the Gonon S-J highlights the bacon fat and rotundone. Otherwise, both are excellent examples. FWIW, my buddy loved the wine (chalk one up for the Old World!) and it was an excellent pairing with our braised short ribs. Drink now to enjoy its youth or enjoy through 2034+.

Beautiful Syrah - zero carbonic - lovely spice and extraction. At 5-6 years this is aging gracefully. Blackberry, bramble, cracked pepper.

Some Brett, which is a little distracting for me, but doesn’t totally ruin it. Rich and savory, lots of herbal quality, bramble raspberries and dried cherries. A bit hot, which is surprising given the green notes in there. Going to let this open up for a day or two as it’s a bit linear right now, and check back in with it later. It’s a nice Syrah, but I was hoping for more. EDIT: Day two, after decanting and leaving in a partial bottle, this wine was totally singing. Opened right up, almost Barbaresco-like character. Totally shows off what Syrah can do. Rating upgraded.

Brilliant. Wide, deep and expansive, darkly fruited nose. Tiny purple flowers and pink peppercorn. Perfumed. Some doughy aromas. Ripe black cherries with herbal notes of savory, oregano and menthol on the salty, long finish. Fruity, suave, nicely tart and concentrated palate. Just getting going.

Unfortunately disappointing. Lacked structure, definition and energy. A bit too rich and clumsy. Not modern but lots of new world fruit. Hopefully it sheds some baby fat and transforms but unlikely.

Fresh, savory, drinking very nicely. Raspberry coulis, macerated huckleberry, apricot, candied olive, smoke, black truffle, talcum, violet, pepper and sweet smokey meat. Tannin and acid playing nicely off one another, great harmony on that front. Texture from front to finish is elegant, long, has pedigree with Burgundian leanings. Perfect with chou farci, vadouvan, and black truffle.