 |
At its best, red Saint-Joseph is a stunning blend of concentration, complexity, freshness and the typical peppery and slightly bacony spiciness of Syrah, of which the wines must be made with the exception of a possible small proportion of white grapes; even powerful examples from good sites can turn out cool and elegant. The less privileged representatives are ideally also juicy, but lack the delicacy and complexity of the tops; at the lower end are rather rustic growths that can certainly have their charm, but would perhaps be better labelled as simple Côtes du Rhone.
Very interesting here are often the restrained aromatic whites from Marsanne and/or Roussanne, which can turn out much cooler than one might expect here. Successful examples are tart and juicy, firm and mineral and capable of developing positively for 5 to 10 years.
We have currently tasted around 50 wines, of which we present the best here and, as always, also the best. as PDF as always. Links to all the wines and their producers with detailed descriptions can be found by clicking on the headings.