09 Alain Paret ‘420 Nuits’ [St Joseph] This is a 12.5% abv rouge that is hand picked from a steep granitic single vineyard site near Rouchecourbe. I have not tasted one before but drank it over a couple of nights casual sipping it in the kitchen. This bottling get its name from the 420 nights it spends in various forms of new oak. But by age ten, for my tastes it has soaked the wood all up, and is quite pleasant. It is medium purple, no bricking/fading, with a floral nose of violets, and bright red berries on the palate. They don’t make much of this and I don’t see any of Paret’s lineup locally. Not much sediment. I like it and would buy it again. B+ or better. Just a shade of tannin left.
The label is fairly striking - dark navy blue with silver script, and in modern vintages, a gnarled vine. It looks quite regal.