Consistent impressions from two bottles opened during the last couple of weeks. There’s a core of bright red fruit and olives tinged with lavender and black pepper, and with time it becomes more smoky and savoury. There’s some fine grained tannin on the back end, but a lot of the structure here seems to come from the acidity, which keeps it very lively and fresh. It certainly has the balance and structure to age very well, but it’s all too easy to drink right now.
Thanks for the note. I have a couple VV, might open one soon…
Michael
I had the 2011 VV last week. It’s very good, but rather tightly wound and aromatically reserved (relative to the regular SJ) right now - the fruit’s more rich and dense, and it’s a lot more tannic. Planning to let the VV rest while I drink the regular now.
Thanks for the good note, Salil. As you know, I like both Faury St. Joseph rouge cuvees (the blanc is excellent, as well), but for me, in the early going, I prefer this one over the VV.
Disclaimer: I sell Faury.
Couldn’t resist, and opened a VV last night. I definitely agree that the nose is reserved - it’s all smoke right now, missing that meatiness that I see as a Faury hallmark. The palate was great, though. Rich fruit without being cloying, ample (although low for the vintage) acidity. I was looking for tannins, but found them to be very fine, and noticed only on the finish.
Overall a very good bottle, and not sad to have opened one now, especially since they’re so readily available.
Michael
Sounds delicious, sounds like a Gonon… and it’s still priced like Gonons of yesteryear (for now).