Around the new year we had two tastings on 2015 Saint-Joseph wines. The first part was on the “smaller names” whereas this pt. 2 had the Bigger Names.
All the wines were tasted half-blind, ie. we knew what wines we were going to drink - only not in which order. The person who arranged the tasting (a big fan of huge, ripe, oak-heavy wines) told us he was certain none of us would pick out the crowd favorite Gonon and we’d only make fools of ourselves.
I didn’t have to do anything else beyond sniff the glasses one by one and by the time I had reached glass number five I had no doubts: “yup, this is Gonon.” Didn’t have to go through all the glasses to be pretty adamant about this. And as it turned out, I was correct. Gonon’s style is pretty unmistakable - especially in a lineup like this, where most of the wines were stylistically pretty much the polar opposite from that of Gonon.
I was also very happy our Finn expat @Mikko_Tuomi managed to join the tasting on the last minute as there was one free spot in the tasting and he happened to be in town just on the exact same date! He had told me earlier he would bringing me a local curiosity brew, but he didn’t mention anything about the SQN surprise bottle he poured to us (full blind) after the tasting proper. Although not entirely in my wheelhouse, the wine was still pretty darn lovely - and seemed to leave a pretty good impression to the other attendees in the tasting who had never met Mikko before! 
Btw, this is not the original tasting order, so don’t be confused: Gonon was originally in the glass number 5, not 6 as this photo would suggest! 
And exactly as with the last time, we awarded points (9 participants, three points to distribute however they wish) to the wines after we had tasted them. Here is the final ranking of the wines, including the total amount of points awarded to the wines (and my personal rating in parentheses). As you can see, my personal preferences didn’t always line up with those of the group:
1 - 2015 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph, 10 pts. (95)
2 - 2015 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph, 5 pts. (92)
3 - 2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice, 3 pts. (77)
3 - 2015 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Le Clos, 3 pts. (93)
4 - 2015 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Clos Florentin, 2 pts. (91)
4 - 2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph Lieu-Dit St. Joseph Rouge, 2 pts. (-)
5 - 2015 Delas Frères St. Joseph Sainte-Epine, 1 pts. (-)
5 - 2015 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Les Granits, 1 pts. (81)
6 - 2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph, 0 pts. (79)
6 - 2015 Paul Jaboulet Aîné St. Joseph Domaine de la Croix des Vignes, 0 pts. (89)
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2015 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Le Clos - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah from a biodynamically farmed vineyard at the heart of Saint-Joseph. Fermented spontaneously and macerated for 5 weeks in 3000-liter concrete tanks. Aged for approx. 20 months in French oak barriques (25% new). 14% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Deep, luminous and quite opaque black cherry color. The nose feels dry and smoky - even slightly reductive - with quite intense and varietally correct aromas of floral violet tones, almost charred bacon, some gunpowder smoke notes of reduction, a little bit of ripe dark berry, light pungent notes of burnt hair, a hint of blueberry juice and a touch of woody spice. The wine feels ripe, juicy and focused on the palate with a medium body and very intense flavors of concentrated blackberry and fresh dark plum tones, some licorice nuances, a little bit of peppery spice, light reductive nuances of gunpowder smoke, a hint of meaty umami and a touch of gravelly minerality. The wine retains great sense of freshness and structure, thanks to the high acidity and firm, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is long, juicy and rather grippy with an intense aftertaste of ripe blackberry, some darker-toned plummy fruit, a little bit of gunpowder smoke, light gamey meaty tones, a floral hint of violets and a touch of licorice root.
A very sophisticated, nuanced and quite dead-serious Saint-Joseph with a lot of stuffing and structure. I was surprised to learn the wine was a Chapoutier when the labels were revealed, because I was expecting a softer and more oaky wine (and, truth be told, we had also a 2015 Chapoutier Les Granits, which turned out to be exactly like that). As opposed to Chapoutier's more polished style with more oak impact, the oak aromatics seemed surprisingly downtoned here - even after good aeration - and the emphasis was on the vibrant, still surprisingly youthful Syrah fruit. Even though the wine showed some obvious ripeness and the alcohol clocked in at 14%, the wine still showed good sense of finesse and freshness. A very positive surprise in all aspects - except for the price: even if this was one of my favorite wines in this tasting, I still think this is by no means worth its price at 146€. The wine drinks wonderfully now and will only improve and get better over the next 5-10 years, but I still wouldn't buy the wine even at half the price. There is so much good St. Joe to go around for just 25-40€ that the price of this wine just doesn't make any sense. In our tasting the wine received three point from the ten participants, making it finish on shared third place.
(93 points) -
2015 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Les Granits - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah from a biodynamically farmed parcel in Saint-Joseph. Fermented spontaneously and macerated for 5 weeks in 3000-liter concrete tanks. Aged for approx. 20 months in French oak barriques (a combination of new, once used and twice used). 14% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Deep, quite opaque and slightly evolved blackish-red color. The nose feels juicy, rather sweet and moderately oaky with lush aromas of dark plummy fruits and ripe boysenberries, some minty green tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice, light licorice tones, a brambly hint of black raspberry and a touch of blackberry jam. The wine feels big, ripe and rather sweet-toned on the palate with a full body and rich flavors of juicy dark plums, some chocolatey mocha oak tones, a little bit of licorice, light boysenberry jam tones, a hint of gamey meat and a touch of minty lift. The overall feel is quite voluptuous and somewhat on the soft side, thanks to the medium-plus acidity and rather ripe medium tannins. The finish is ripe, juicy and gently grippy with a long, opulent aftertaste of blackberry juice and boysenberry jam, some sweet notes of toasty oak spices, a little bit of minty greenness, light licorice tones, an extracted hint of woody bitterness and a touch of plummy dark fruit.
This turned out to be a stereotypical example of Chapoutier premium wine: lush, soft and sweetly-fruited with too much oak and too little freshness. I was very surprised how remarkably different this wine was from the 2015 Chapoutier Le Clos that we tasted next to each other; Le Clos was impressively structured with the oak aromatics being nothing more than an afterthought, whereas here the oak was noticeably to the fore; the wine was lacking in structure; and the fruit had veered away from vibrant blackberry fruit to more a more generic, plummy and jammy direction. I guess this wine might continue to age and improve from here, but seeing how disappointing the wine is now, I doubt this will become particularly interesting even with extended aging. A rip-off at 117€. In our tasting the wine received only one point from the ten participants, making it finish on shared fifth place.
(81 points) -
2015 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
Made with estate fruit sourced from multiple vineyards in Tournon (Dardouelle and Les Oliviers), Mauves (Les Côtes and Sapelias), Saint-Jean-de-Muzols (Pichonnier) and Lemps (Bachasson) - the oldest vines dating back to the early 1900's. Fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks and old oak foudres, aged for 15-18 months in old foudres and predominantly old, neutral 228-liter oak barrels (a small portion renewed annually). Bottled unfiltered. 14% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Dense, fully opaque and slightly evolved dark reddish color with an evolved dried-blood hue. The rather rustic nose has a rather pronounced streak of brett, exhibiting aromas of barnyard and smoky phenolic tones, some sweaty leather saddle, a little bit of ripe dark fruits, light woody notes of pencil shavings, a hint of earth and a touch of brambly blackberry. The wine is ripe and silky yet firm and dry on the palate with flavors of crushed peppercorns, some bretty notes of horse stables and leather saddle, light juicy notes of boysenberries and ripe bilberries, a little bit of black cherry and dark plum, a hint of licorice root and an olive touch of tapenade. The wine shows good sense of structure with its rather high acidity and ample, quite grippy yet powdery, not aggressive tannins. The finish is juicy, dry and moderately grippy with a long, complex aftertaste of meaty umami and roasted game, barnyardy nuances of brett, some ripe dark-toned notes of juicy blackberries, blueberries and black cherries, a little bit of peppery spice, light olive tones, a floral hint of violets and a touch of savory wood spice.
A tasty, firm and complex Saint Joseph with a rather pronounced streak of rustic bretty funk, yet enough stuffing to balance out all those animale tones. The wine packs quite a bit of structure, but it never comes across as too tough or structure-driven, letting the fruit stay in the limelight and have the structural elements back up and frame the fruit. This wine was tasted at the same time with Chave's 2015 Clos Florentin and both the wines seemed to be cut from the same cloth; I found Clos Florentin a bit more impressive with its more pronounced structure and fruit intensity, but this regular St. Joe feels much better for immediate consumption due to its slightly more open-knit, approachable nature. Naturally a few people in the tasting were discouraged by the quite funky nature of the wine, but I wasn't among them. In our tasting the wine received five points from the ten participants, making it finish on second place. A bit on the pricey side at 62€, but not forbiddingly so.
(92 points) -
2015 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Clos Florentin - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah made with fruit sourced from Le Clos de l’Arbalestrier, a vineyard in Mauves which Chave purchased from Domaine Florentin in 2009. The average vineyard age is around 80 years. In vintages 2010-2014 Chave blended the fruit into his Saint-Joseph - exactly as he does with his Hermitage. However, since 2015 he has bottled the best fruit from this vineyard as a separate wine, so we're tasting the debut vintage here. Fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks, aged for 24 months exclusively in old old, neutral 228-liter oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 14% alcohol. Total production 3000 bottles. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Deep, dark and fully opaque black cherry color with a subtly evolved maroon hue. The nose feels fragrant, characterful and slightly bretty with layered aromas of saddle leather and barnyard, some floral notes of violets, a little bit of blackberry-driven ripe dark fruit, light earthy notes, a sweet hints of boysenberries and dried bilberries, a touch of crushed peppercorns and a whiff of garrigue. The wine feels ripe, juicy and quite dense on the palate with a full body and intense, quite fruit-driven flavors of fresh bilberries and tart red plums, some funky notes of saddle leather and stable floor, a little bit of gamey meat, light phenolic smoky tones, fragrant hints of violets and garrigue and a touch of ripe blackberry. The wine is quite sinewy and enjoyably structured with its high acidity and quite assertive, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is rich, long and moderately tannic with an intense, dark-toned aftertaste of jammy blackberries and ripe bilberries, some bretty notes of leather saddle and farmhouse funk, light floral nuances of violets, a little bit of fresh dark plum, a sanguine hint of iron and a touch of roasted game or even charred bacon.
A very impressive, intensely fruited and well-structured Saint Joseph that combines vibrant purity of fruit with some rustic, bretty complexity. This wine definitely isn't clean as a whistle, but it is more fruit-driven, slightly higher in acidity and a bit less bretty than 2015 Chave Saint Joseph (which we tasted next to this wine). Comparing these two wines, the standard Saint Joe seems to be more approachable and open-knit in texture at the moment, and while Clos Florentin shows less funk and more intensity of fruit, it also feels somewhat more youthful and structure-driven. I'd say at the moment these wines are more or less at the same level of quality, maybe the standard Saint Joe taking a tiny lead for now, but my hunch is that 2015 Clos Florentin is going to turn out to be a more impressive wine with enough age. Even if liked the wine a lot, the wine received only two points from the ten participants in our tasting, making it finish on shared fourth place. The wine is maybe a bit pricey for the quality at 87€, but maybe things change as the wine ages and evolved.
(91 points) -
2015 Delas Frères St. Joseph Sainte-Epine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah sourced from the lieu-dit Sainte-Épine, located in the commune of Saint-Jean-de-Muzols in the southern part of the Saint-Joseph appellation. Cold-soaked for three days prior to fermentation. Fermented and macerated for 15 days in concrete tanks. Aged for 14-16 months in oak barrels (partly new, partly once used). 14,5% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Quite opaque blackish-red color with a pale blood-red rim. The nose feels meaty, savory and slightly oxidative with aromas of slightly wizened dark plums, some peppery spice, light tertiary notes of meat stew with aromatic herbs and a hint of dull woody oak spice. The wine feels dry, dense and quite evolved on the palate with a full body and savory flavors of ripe dark plums, some toasty notes of sweet oak spice, a little bit of raisiny dark fruit, light meaty notes of bacon and an oxidative hint of soy sauce. The wine is quite high in acidity with moderately grippy tannins. The high alcohol lends some warmth to the palate. The finish is moderately grippy, somewhat oxidative and slightly warm with a long aftertaste of woody oak spice, some wizened blackberry tones, a little bit of extracted oaky bitterness, light spicy notes of crushed peppercorns, an evolved hint of hoi sin and a touch of earth.
Eh. Most people thought this wine wasn't in a good shape - to me, it felt the wine was prematurely oxidized. Not badly, but enough to have a dull, oxidative overall character that was quite out of place here. Other than that, the wine was impressively structured and had quite a bit of bold fruit, but at the same time it seemed a bit too heavily oaked for my taste and the alcohol stuck out quite a bit. As the wine seemed so prematurely advanced, it's hard to give any serious assessment how it should evolve from here, or whether it was worth its price (at 57€). As the wine was still perfectly drinkable - one judge actually liked the wine quite a bit - I'm not marking it as defective, but I'm leaving it without a score. In our tasting the wine received only one point from the ten participants, making it finish on shared fifth place. -
2015 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
Made from grapes that have been grown organically on predominantly granite soil. Fermented spontaneously in open-top oak fermenters with 2-week maceration, stems and all. Aged for 24 months in old foudres and 600-liter demi-muids. Bottled with ~50 mg/l SO2. 13,5% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Luminous, somewhat translucent black cherry color with a youthful, faint purplish hue. The nose is instantly recognizable for a Gonon with the first sniff: it is so wonderfully fragrant and expressive with intense aromas of bilberries and floral notes of violets, some juicy blackberry tones, a little bit of boysenberry, light gamey tones, a hint of olive, a touch of crushed peppercorns and a whiff of lifted sauvage character. This is really Saint-Joe at its best. The wine is firm yet silky on the palate with a medium body and intense flavors of boysenberries and fresh, juicy red plums, some briny olive tones, a little bit of meaty umami, light gravelly mineral notes, sweeter hints of bilberries and ripe blackberries and a fragrant touch of fennel. Although the wine shows quite a bit of ripeness, the overall feel is still remarkably fresh and sinewy, thanks to the high acidity and firm yet not aggressive tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is long, harmonious and juicy with some tannic grip and a vibrant, layered aftertaste of boysenberries and blueberries, some olive, a little bit of darker plummy tones, light floral notes of violets and chopped fennel, a hint of gamey meat and a touch of crushed peppercorns.
In a half-blind tasting of 10 Saint-Joseph wines, it was obvious from the get-go in which glass we had Gonon. As all the other wines we tasted were made in a noticeably more modern, extractive and oak-driven style, the vibrancy, purity and finesse Gonon exhibited was unmistakable. But not only was the style simply different; the intensity, depth of flavor and sense of harmony were all on a completely different level. Although one or two people seemed to favor more extractive winemaking, this was still a unanimous winner of the evening. This was my favorite wine in our tasting and the wine received ten points from the ten participants - twice as much as the wine on second place - making it finish easily on first place. Although I'm not sure if the solar 2015 vintage was that successful in all Northern Rhône, this 2015 Gonon St. Joe seems to be consistently an outstanding wine and probably the best 2015 Northern Rhône Syrah I know. It is still young and shows tons of aging potential, but it has also been drinking exceptionally well right from the release (which is not that typical of many Gonon vintages). Excellent value at 53€.
(95 points) -
2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
100% Syrah sourced from multiple vineyards around the appellation, including both estate fruit and purchased grapes. The average vineyard age ranges from 20 to 50 years, depending on the parcel. Fermented in stainless steel, aged for 16 months in once used oak barrels. 13,5% alcohol. Annual production approx. 200,000 bottles. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Somewhat translucent but also very slightly cloudy blackish-red color. The nose feels quite spicy and rather sweet with aromas of jammy dark fruits and ripe blackberries, some sweet black cherry tones, a little bit of perfumed floral character, light chocolatey mocha oak nuances, a hint of blueberry juice and an evolved touch of beef jerky. The wine is ripe, juicy and rather sweetly-fruited on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of succulent dark berries and rich plummy fruit, some cherry juice tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light briny nuances of olive, a hint of sweet caramel oak and a faint sweet touch of vanilla and jammy red fruit at the tip of the tongue. The wine is moderately high in acidity with quite gentle medium-minus tannins. The finish is long, rich and juicy with a little bit of tannic grip and an intense, sweetly-fruited aftertaste of fresh black cherries and ripe dark plums, some savory woody tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light ferrous notes of blood, a hint Kalamata olive and a touch of gravelly minerality.
A quite harmonious but also soft, sweet-toned and easy Saint-Joseph that has a very anonymous and generic feel to it - although the wine is somewhat recognizable for a Northern Rhône Syrah, the quite dominant mocha oak tones and jammy fruit characteristics lend a rather modern "Shiraz" feel to the wine. The wine is an amalgamation of fruity crowdpleaser and easy-drinking everyday red - both qualities I don't look for in a St. Joe. While a technically correct wine, this is something that's very hard to get excited about. Feels rather expensive for the quality at 28€. In our tasting the wine didn't receive any points from any of the ten participants, making it finish on shared sixth (ie. last) place.
(79 points) -
2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph Lieu-Dit St. Joseph Rouge - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
100% Syrah sourced from the vineyard that gives the appellation its name. The vine age ranges from 20 to 75 years. Aged for 24 months in new oak barrels. 13,5% alcohol. Annual production approx. 18,000 bottles. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Dense, evolved and fully opaque blackish-red color with an aged maroon hue. The nose feels pungent and oxidative with aromas of soy sauce, some smoky notes of Speck, a little bit of dark pruney fruit and sweet hints of raisins. The wine feels ripe, dense and stern on the palate with a moderately full body and quite tired flavors of beef jerky, some soy sauce, a little bit of sweet pruney fruit, light earthy tones, a hint of raisins and a chocolatey touch of toasty mocha oak. The overall feel is quite muscular with the rather high acidity and quite grippy tannins. The finish is long, a bit warm and quite grippy with moderately oxidative aftertaste of soy sauce, some pruney tones, a little bit of beef jerky, light earthy nuances and a ferrous hint of blood.
In my books this wine was tired and quite oxidative, ie. not at all how it should've been. Most likely the wine had been kept improperly before purchase, because supposedly this was kept in a cellar since. I'm leaving the wine unrated, because I doubt a wine like this should be as flat and tired as this was at 7,5 years of age. Yet still, for some reason the wine received two points from the ten participants in our tasting, making it finish on shared fourth place - I have no idea why. To me, this was 49€ down the drain. -
2015 E. Guigal St. Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah from lieu-dit Chapon, a vineyard above Tournon-sur-Rhône that was created by combining the vineyards purchased from Grippat and Vallouit. The vine age ranges from 20 to 80 years. Aged for 30 months in new French oak barriques. 13,5% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Fully opaque blackish-red color with a youthful purplish hue. The nose feels ripe, broad and sunny with lush aromas of vanilla oak and blackberry jam, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of mocha oak, light blueberry nuances, a hint of chocolate milkshake and a touch of blackcurrant juice. The wine is juicy, very ripe and quite voluptuous on the palate with a full body and bold, sweet-toned flavors of vanilla oak, juicy blackberries and boysenberry jam, some dark plummy tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light gravelly mineral tones, an extracted hint of woody bitterness and a touch of sweet raspberry. The structure relies mostly on the rather high acidity, as the ripe tannins feel very gentle and mellow, mainly contributing to the velvety texture, not to the structure. The finish is ripe, juicy and gently grippy with a long, sweetish aftertaste of vanilla and some cedary oak spice, a little bit of overripe blackberry and juicy blueberry, light creamy tones, a hint of boysenberry jam and a touch of licorice root.
Ugh, this feels like a caricature of a new world Shiraz, not a Saint Joseph! The fruit department feels very big and weighty, but not particularly due to the quality and concentration of the fruit, but more because the wine is bordering on over-ripeness. This alone would've made the wine feel big, soft and sweet-toned, but then there is a ton of new oak on top of it all, accentuating all those sweet flavors with rather conspicuous nuances of vanilla, mocha and milk chocolate. To me, this doesn't feel like anything even remotely typical of Saint-Joseph - this is a disappointing, jammy vanilla bomb with no sense of place whatsoever. It's a shame Guigal is making a wine like this from Grippat's former vineyards, since Grippat himself has said he likes delicate Syrah wines of great finesse - not overt new oak aromatics. This feels like a complete antithesis to how Grippat described a fine Northern Rhône Syrah. I thought the wine was pretty horrible, but a few attendees enjoyed the bold crowdpleaser style of the wine; in our tasting the wine received three point from the ten participants, making it finish on shared third place. IMO, at 73€, this wine is a daylight robbery. If you like fresh, sophisticated and sophisticated Saint-Joseph wines: avoid.
(77 points) -
2015 Paul Jaboulet Aîné St. Joseph Domaine de la Croix des Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (19.1.2023)
A single-vineyard Syrah from a steep 1,5-hectare parcel above Tournon. Average vine age 25 years. Aged for a year in French oak barriques (20-25% new). 13,5% alcohol. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of ten 2015 Saint-Joseph wines.
Deep, luminous and very slightly evolved black ruby color that permits a little bit of light through. Savory and a bit reticent nose with aromas of peppery spice, some savory oak tones, a little bit of charred bacon, light earthy notes, perhaps a bretty hint of Band-Aid and a touch of dark plummy fruit. Not much fruit here. On the palate the wine feels dense, ripe and textural with a full body and quite dark-toned flavors of crunchy, slightly tart dark plums, some juicy blackberry tones, a little bit of tart lingonberry, light woody notes of savory oak spice and a sweeter nuance of toasty mocha character, a greasy hint of fried bacon and a faint touch of bretty funk. The overall feel is rather firm and structured with the high acidity and quite assertive, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is long, juicy and grippy with rich yet savory flavors of ripe blackberries, some woody notes of oak, a little bit of greasy bacon, light crunchy notes of tart red plums, a hint of chocolatey oak and a bretty touch of phenolic spice.
An impressively brawny and quite structure-driven Saint-Joseph that would be otherwise pretty lovely, but the oak influence is a bit too pronounced for me and conversely the fruit department feels a bit underwhelming. This isn't as obviously modern and excessively oaked as some Jaboulet wines I've tasted, but somehow the wine still suffers from the same problem as many other Jaboulet wines that I've tasted: the fruit department lacks vibrancy and intensity and the wine feels somewhat coarse and lifeless - despite showing good sense of structure, depth and flavor intensity. There seems to be also a tiniest bit of bretty funk, but it doesn't bother me - if anything, it only adds a bit of complexity and character to the wine. All in all, this is a decent Syrah, but not really anything I'd seek out for. Feels rather heavily overpriced for the quality at 60€. In our tasting the wine didn't receive any points from any of the ten participants, making it finish on shared sixth (ie. last) place.
(89 points) -
2019 Sine Qua Non Syrah Distenta I - USA, California, Central Coast (19.1.2023)
A blend of Syrah (83,6%), Grenache (6,2%), Petite Sirah (5,2%), Mourvèdre (3%), Muscat (1,4%) and Petit Manseng (0,6%). Aged for 23 months in French oak barrels (43% new). 15,8% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Youthful, deep and slightly translucent black cherry color. Clean, fragrant and noticeably ripe nose with intense, sweet-toned aromas of boysenberries and juicy bilberries, some heady floral notes of violets with faint overtones of rose petals, light meaty tones, a little bit of peppery spice, a hint of ripe dark plum, a touch of plum pit and a faint lactic whiff of MLF. The alcohol does show to some degree, but not as much as you'd expect from a wine clocking in at almost 16% ABV. The wine feels big, dense and textural on the palate with a noticeably full body and very ripe flavors of black cherries and plum pits, some blueberry tones, a little bit of peppery spice and meaty umami, light boysenberry tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of mint chocolate. The wine is medium in acidity with very ripe and gentle tannins that mainly contribute to the rich texture of the wine, lending very little if any grip to the mouthfeel. The finish is clean, long and very ripe with an intense aftertaste of boysenberry jam and marmaladey primary fruit, some meaty notes of umami, a little bit of blueberry juice, light chocolatey oak tones, a hint of dark plummy fruit and a touch of peppery spice. The high alcohol makes the wine end on a moderately warm note.
A very big, vibrant and noticeably ripe Syrah-driven blend that comes across as surprisingly sophisticated for its size. However, there's no denying that this wine feels like it is only made to impress, not to be a harmonious food wine. Although the alcohol doesn't stick out as badly as one would expect from its high level, it still shows quite some. Ditto for oak. Structurally the wine comes across as round, soft and even somewhat fat, not even attempting to carry its big frame and noticeable weight with any grace. Although thoroughly enjoyable and tasty wine in its own right, I really struggle to find any good use for such a big, ripe and soft wine. This style of wine really doesn't speak to me, which is why I find the price of the wine ($190) quite ridiculous.
(90 points) -
2022 Dogfish Head Brewery 120 Minute IPA - USA, Delaware (19.1.2023)
Imperial IPA boiled for 120 minutes (hence the name), hopped continuously over the two-hour boil. Dry-hopped for a month after the boil. 16,6% alcohol.
Luminous amber color with faint greenish highlights and an almost nonexistent white head. The nose feels sweet, ridiculously intense and quite hoppy with bold aromas of malt syrup, some pine cones, a little bit of sweet raisiny fruit, light boozy notes of alcohol, a hint of burnt sugar, a touch of ripe apricot and a whiff of sweet exotic spices. The wine is ridiculously thick, robust and quite hot on the palate with a mightily full body and very sweet, intense flavors of raisiny dark fruit and dried peach, some rich malt syrup tones, a little bit of peppery spice, light boozy notes of alcohol along with some fusel alcohol tones, a hint of pine cone and resinous hops and a touch of honey. The carbonation feels very modest and soft, whereas the hop bitterness comes across as quite noticeably high, yet still not dominant or aggressive, thanks to the beer's viscous body and quite noticeable, syrupy sweetness. The finish is hot, fat and quite sticky with a very powerful, long and noticeably sweet aftertaste of dried pineapple, some honeyed tones, a little bit of raisiny fruit, light malt syrup tones, a hint of apricot jam and a touch of pine resin.
A huge, just ridiculously massive beer where the term "Imperial IPA" doesn't do any justice to it. I mean, this is more like a "Double Barley Wine" or something. Sure, probably a copious amount of hops was used to make this beer, but it still doesn't make the beer taste even remotely like an IPA - or even DIPA - as the overall feel is dominated by the massively sweet malt syrup tones and the huge body. Even if the hop bitterness comes across as pretty high, it still doesn't feel nearly adequate to offset any of that sweetness or bring any sense of freshness to the beer. This is very well-crafted mega-Barley Wine marketed under the guise of trendy IPA, but even if the brew is very impressive for a few sips, finishing a single bottle at one go would be a chore. A unique malt bomb of a beer, best suited for satisfying academic curiosity on the topic of "how huge a beer can be and still be described as an IPA with a straight face?"
(91 points)
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