Is Balthazar the next gonon?

Lots of offers of 17 chaillot at 90-100/btl.

Glad I have cases of 15-16

I think people like Envoyer are just waiting for tariffs to end before they put in orders for many wines. This has probably temporarily inflated prices? I’ll wait until I see it at where I’ve bought it from before. That said, Balthazar was a good qpr for a long while. Now with the Juge vines…

The juge vines was a one time thing for 2015 if I remember correctly.

At $60 I thought balthazar chaillot was one of the best qpr in France. That wine delivered in spades

I’ve had his Chaillot only as far back as 2010, and I’ve found the latest versions to have a real knockout purity of flavor to them. In that sense, I can see some similarity in the trajectory of Gonon. The Chaillot for me from Balthazar tends to present a Cab like sweetness. Not in a bad way at all though as it feels more like saturation of flavor and the tannins keep it firm. Whereas the Gonon presents with more snap. Though most of these are out of my budget at this point, I don’t think Balthazar is priced too high and still offers great value.

Balthazar as the next Gonon … in terms of what?

Gonon’s wines are from Saint Joseph. I’ve little experience with Balthazar, but as far as I know all his wines are grown in Cornas.

Are they comparable to you?

I believe he was referring to price hike. Gonon prices have gone up like crazy lately.

Next cult producer to explode in price.

Love these wines

For me i think they’re quite different in that Gonon’s entire range (in red, not white) is great, whereas i think Balthazar’s Chaillot is far and away the standout wine. If people start paying crazy prices for the Casimir - lol.

Would be the end as we know it!

Hardly the end, but I think the Northern Rhones that are “culty” at the moment are either mostly deserving (Allemand, Gonon, Jamet) or are due to the winemakers being retired/deceased (Juge, Verset (both in his case)). I love Balthazar’s Chaillot and buy some every year, but it’s not that small of a production (like, say, Gerard’s LaLa) and the rest of his wines aren’t nearly as good as the Chaillot.

If I’m wrong and Balthazar’s Chaillot rivals Allemand’s in price, I won’t shed any tears as it falls off my annual buy list - there are plenty of similar producers making great wine at a lower price point.

I was told that they are blended into the Cashmir after the one time 2015 barrel.

I guess I could kind of see it coming, but it’s too bad the price has exploded. I suppose it’s probably worth it, but I’m not a buyer at approaching $100 anymore.

I was told the same. Though I’m quite curious about a Cashmir cuvee Especially since I don’t really like the Casimir

spellcheck

If you like Gonon, want to compare apples-to-apples, and stay within St. Joseph, Faury VV is about $35. I’m not going to say it’s better than Gonon, but it’s comparable, minus the cache (recent).

Gonon is a nice version of St. Joseph, and I bought 8-12 bottles of the 2009 through 2012 vintages (laughably, between $35-$45), but one the price hit about $60 in 2013, I was out. At that price, Faury et al offered similar quality for 1/4 the price.

I haven’t had Balthazar, and I now nothing about them, but I’ve heard good things over the years. If you’re looking for a good value in Cornas, you likely can’t go wrong. But, if you’re looking for a sleeper that might blow up, Allemand’s situation is a good benchmark: a wine that is produced, farmed, and vinified by a force of nature in his later years who doesn’t seem to have any apparent heirs waiting to step in? My information is dated by several years, so maybe his situation has changed.

Buy wines you like that are good values made by reliable producers, and one day you’ll be surprised. If not, god forbid, you’ll be stuck with some delicious wine that you bought for a great price.

Gonon is cult?

Secondary pricing is regularly more than 2X, and often more like 3X release pricing so it would seem to fit the criteria. It’s not unobtainable though, if that’s something you’d consider to be necessary.

I like Faury quite a bit but think Gonon is a big step up. For me the best thing about Gonon was the Les Iles Feray, especially when it was under $20. It was a fresher wine but consistently excellent. Drank well out of the gate and for several years. I bought a case or more every year until that was throttled, and now none. I see that W-S shows one listing of that wine, the 2017 from Crush at $72, which is absolutely absurd. Really great wine for under $30 though.

Increased pricing makes it a cult? Even then, with the stuff that I read here, there’s almost a dichotomous divide between those who say they agree with the increased prices, although am not sure if they have bought (or will buy) at the current prices, and those who say they don’t think the current price is higher than the wine warrants. Plus, in spite of all these, as you say, they’re still available.

This is where I’m at as well. I’ve bought some here and there but it has never made enough of an impact for me to load up, not even the sans soufre.