TN: 2009 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph)

2009 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (11/25/2016)
Clearly “between” right now, as it seemed quite juicy but there wasn’t much fruit. Focused more on the savory aspects of Syrah, the balance of meaty, soy, herb and tar elements was right on with the acids and tannins, but it always seemed like there was a closed door. Given that it’s 7 years old, I am not shocked that we caught it in a closed phase, but there’s good depth and balance, so plenty of promise for the future.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the report, David. I have some of this stashed away. With 2009, I wasn’t sure when to pull one for a test drive.

I’m curious – did you decant this?

No. it did not budge much over two hours though. I think cellar time is the cure it needs.

Thanks David. I love this wine every vintage. Nice to know where this one is at this point.

Salt of the earth, in every way.
I had an epic visit with Pierre two weeks ago.
We drove to and walked all of their vineyards, including Monsieur Trollat’s house and vines.
Then we tasted the full range of knockout '15s out of tank and cask, the '14 St Jo classique out of bottle (stunning stunning stuff), and the '10 St Jo Classique out of bottle.
Soooooo good.
Tons of respect to Pierre. How he and his brother farm here and make wine are a testament to respectful artisanal greatness at its very best.
Sounds like the '09 is shutting down, David. I will be sure not to mess…

Rob,
I love Jean Gonon who is Pierre’s brother.
They are a talented team. Very genuine and nice people.

Thanks for the data point, David. Not that I collect verticals, but Gonon is a 10+ year vertical for me, third only to Ridge and Levet. Love this wine. Looking forward to the '15s, my case of 14s coming in next week. Thanks to Robert as well for the comment about '15.

I have only had one 2015 Northern Rhone so far - Souhaut - but liked very much what I saw.

My first impression of the '09 three or four years ago - too fruity. Glad to hear it seems to be developing more of the savoury stuff. Will hold off on the few remaining bottles, though.

Quite interesting info on the evolution of Gonon wines - I did not have a clue. I only have some 2010, 11 and 12’s but I was going to pop the corks at seven years old like I do with the rest of my domestic syrahs. So, does the fruit eventually show up in balance with the savory side? Regarding this balance, how many years does this normally take? Thanks for the input.

I’ve seen this comment on several vintages of Gonon. The answer is time.

You guys are ripe for a parody of the AFWE view – let’s keep this wine until that nasty fruit goes away.

I asked Pierre what he prefers in terms of timing to drink his wines (something that I very often encounter with a similar reply):
After the tweener stage or initial slumber, 7-12 years from vintage date.
Still enough primary fruit left, but the structure is more resolved, and the beginning onset of tertiary bottle ageing qualities. Not too old…

I don’t want a wine that is devoid of fruit, but I do find the concept that young, fruity wines are somehow inherently flawed (see Tvrtko’s "too fruity) to be somewhat laughable. Fruit has become the devil for some folks. Maybe it’s due to a lack of patience, wanting mature wine taste with a young wine. Maybe it’s some fear that a wine with fruit cannot age. I just don’t see it.

I think in this case you are perhaps overinterpreting my “too fruity” a little. I don’t mind fruit generally, quite the contrary. I simply said I’d found too much of it in this specific vintage at that early stage. And I certainly didn’t feel it was an “inherent flaw”, which is the reason I have held on to my remaining bottles. I am in fact quite confident about them, and more so after your report.

Thanks for the clarification.

No, thank YOU for a clear and timely TN. Caught myself looking at these recently when I was in my cellar.