A rare sighting here in Podunk Orlando and my first dip into the Faury pool. Oh my, what do we have here…the nose comes out swinging with olive, bacon fat, iron, seaweed, cured meat, crushed forest leaves, powdered pepper. I do not think I can get my nose any further into this wine glass!!!
On the palate, oh yes plenty of acid here, earthy, rustic, tangy blue and red fruits, tapenade, juicy acid in the finish…this is killing…I returned and bought all the remaining bottles…an absolute steal at $23.99
Hi Marc, glad to see this was drinking well. I bought a bunch of this at $15 (delivered IIRC). I’ve found it good, if not as good as the Gonon VdP, but an authentic N. Rhone syrah at a very reasonable price. My last bottle made me think it was on the downslope, but based on your note I will revisit.
Agreed that the Faury St. Jo’s are great, but in my experience this VdP is an even better QPR. Accessible from Day 1 without lacking complexity. Definitely one of the best wines you can buy in the high teens / low $20 range. Drinks as if it cost 2-3x that.
Last month I was quite interested to taste this in comparison to the 2012 Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes from Jamet that I had a few weeks earlier. This is all about olive and black pepper. Good acidity. A wine with some muscle but not meant to age I think. The Jamet on the other hand was a prettier wine, with “pure” Syrah fruit, violets and some meat. Both certainly very good and good value.
I am very interested in their st. Joseph but it takes a miracle to bring wines like these to bore’lando… Robert Alfert showed up at a dinner a couple years back with an 07 Thierry Allemand chaillots…I was not dabbling in any french syrah at the time …that bottle changed me forever…so when I decided to start adding these to the cellar, well sweet Jesus did they jump in price…this Faury is a welcomed relief
Great to have this character at this price. Cornas and Cote Rotie are shooting thru the stratosphere price wise, but these wines are really affordable. Also so much better than most domestic Syrah, at 1/4 or 1/3 of the price.
I agree with this. Faury’s St.-Joseph cuvees and the L’Art Zele Syrah (from vines just outside Cote Rotie) have an unmistakeable purity about them. Also, his/their Condrieu is a beautiful bright, fresh and pure rendition from that appellation. However, the base Cote Rotie, which contains about 10% Viognier (I have not tasted the all Syrah cuvee), comes across as somewhat polished (maybe the new oak used) and disjointed (maybe the Viognier), without the depth, focus and purity of the other wines.
FWIW, I find there to be a big step up from the VdP to the St.-Joseph cuvees. Also, I find the base St.-Joseph cuvee to be considerably more enjoyable young than the VV cuvee.
I’m a big fan of the basic St Joes (haven’t had te VdP). It’s a really pretty wine with floral character and biting acidity, no polish to be found. Looks like there are some pretty good wines coming out of there.