I haven’t had that 14 yet, will be on the look out. 12 and 15 were very good but Juge is such a unicorn at this point I hadn’t considered it in the discussion
It’s also north of 500! Crazy…
Damn, WineSearcher has it for $750!
Sell sell!!!
Never!! (Though the thought of selling my one bottle of 07 Gonon VV has crossed my mind.)
Vine age has to be a big reason for this, I would assume.
Was kidding, I would never sell! I’m still bitter about how frivolously I popped some of those VVs back in the day, lol! And that I passed on buying more cause it was 3x the price of the regular bottling. Sigh…
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I bought one bottle of 06 VV, kind of on a lark off the shelf at Chambers Street Wines, and drank it soon thereafter. It was freaking awesome. The 07 in my cellar is the only other VV I have ever owned.
Is VV really that much better? I just checked and they are at four digits…WHAT?!
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It’s four times better! 
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My 07 VV was $57 on release.
I recall paying $90 for the 06, But I bought it when the 2009 St Joes came out, which were priced in the low 30s
After reading some notes here concerning 2021 vintage in Northern Rhone, how it was a 'light' vintage, many vineyards not ripening fully, some producers chapitalizing their wines, I decided to break into one of these bottles to see what the vintage is all about.
Definitely different character from the 2020 Ardeche Les Iles Feray, which is more in the 'house style', big and brooding fruit and grippy textures (though not as much as Saint Joseph, obviously, this is a dark (looking) wine, emphasis on red fruit, olives, and floral-herbal characteristics but still with an earthy Syrah quality. Medium+ weight on the palate, peppery and dark-fruited on the finish - very enjoyable now but hints for 3-5 more years of good life or more.
erhaps this is one of those situations where, even on 'weak' vintages, the best houses come through. Clearly Gonon is among those, and there's no disappointment on this wine, for this vintage, whatsoever.
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Just opened a 2016 of this a few weeks back and it was rockin’.
I’ve been buying a bottle or two of this the last bunch of vintages, and I thought the '21 was delightful. Definitely not as big and rich as the last few years, but a very enjoyable N. Rhône, as you noted. I wouldn’t wrote off this vintage - while it is probably a bit lighter than the surrounding years, from what I’ve tasted it isn’t a poor vintage. Heck, maybe even some bargains will emerge as people try to unload stock.
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I’m interested to see how 21 ends up comparing to other “difficult” vintages like 08 and 14. If 21 is anything like 14, I’d be ecstatic, especially after the string of big to truly overripe vintages before it.
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2008 is a really weak vintage in my book. Even Jamet’s Côte-Rôtie was somewhat a disappointment to me, and I love Jamet.
2014 on the other hand is a pretty good vintage in my book, and I think the 2021’s are a lot closer to that.
But all of that is based on very few data points so far.
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I have a handful of 2014 Northern Rhones - do I have to keep opening all my wines ‘for science’??
I got to taste Chapoutier’s Les Meysonniers Crozes-Hermitage 2021 earlier this year and while it typically is not necessarily a wine relevant to this forum I think it is worthwhile to mention that the ripeness level and lingonberry-esque fruit character are something that would have been close to impossible to produce in 2015-2020. Totally took me by surprise despite having some expectations for this vintage.
Do you have a 2014 Gonon Les Iles Feray? 
No, but a goodly amount of 2014 Gonon St Joseph, including a mag. Not opening that yet!
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