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Ferraton Pere & Fils Saint-Joseph La Source Rouge 2015

Ferraton Pere & Fils Saint-Joseph La Source Rouge 2015

Displaying classic Northern Rhône character, the Ferraton Père & Fils Saint. Joseph “La Source” 2015 is opaque quinacridone violet in the glass with an aromatic profile awash in smoky plums, blackberries, earth, sun-dried tomato, braised meat, and anise. Crafted from 100% Syrah that has been biodynamically farmed and aged concrete and new and neutral oak […]

Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011

Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011

Bright lemon yellow, the 2011 Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher emits gorgeous, stratified layers of baked pear and apple, lemon curd, orange blossom, spice, and smoky minerality. It’s bright on entry—graced with both texture and depth at the mid-palate, followed by mineral-driven acidity that picks up mellifluous tones of quarry dust, lemon pith, peach pit, […]

Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette 2015

Nicolas Fayolle La Rochette Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2015

This classic 100% Syrah from Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle is infused with aromas of boysenberries, plums, charcuterie, camphor, and violets. In the mouth, it’s medium bodied, with a well-delineated vein of acidity that plays nicely with back-palate flavors of plum skins and green peppercorn. A nice find from Garagiste and one that paired beautifully with a […]

Alain Voge Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014

Alain Voge Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014

Crafted from 60 year-old biodynamically farmed Syrah, Alain Vogue’s Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014 is expressive, yet restrained. Blueberries and blackberries wind ’round earth, black olive, and pink peppercorn. As its opens, secondary aromas emerge: clove, cinnamon bark, cardamom, lanolin, spice, violets, incense. It’s poised, with all of the power Syrah commands, but there is […]

M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc 2015

M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc 2015

M. Chapoutier’s Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc 2015 opens with a smoky undertow that burns off like morning fog to reveal denser aromas of mandarin orange, lemon curd, poached pear, and a base note of grilled pineapple. In the mouth, this 100% Marsanne is round, silky, and wonderfully expressive—orchard fruit and orange pastille are enlivened by […]

E. Guigal Château d’Ampuis Côte-Rôtie 2012

E. Guigal Château d'Ampuis Côte-Rôtie 2012

Seductive aromas of sous bois, mushroom, brambly forest fruit, cloves, cardamom, and violets, or perhaps an elusive note of heliotrope flow from the glass. Of note, Guigal’s 2012 Château d’Ampuis is slightly lighter in body than the typical Cote-Rotie, but the intensity and palate tension is there—a framework of fine tannins and taught acidity that […]

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 2010

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 2010

Infused with smoky blueberries and blackberry jam, and crowned by lighter notes of ash, dried violets, and baking spice—the Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 2010 has much to offer. It’s softly textured on entry, with fine, slightly woody mahogany-tinged tannins encircling a richly fruited core. From start to finish, it’s a seamless wine, […]

Cave de Tain l’Hermitage Crozes-Hermitage Grand Classique 2016

Cave de Tain l'Hermitage Crozes-Hermitage Grand Classique 2016

A lovely winter white, the Cave de Tain Crozes-Hermitage Grand Classique 2016 is composed of 100% Marsanne, sourced from granitic slopes of Hermitage. It’s got that classic Marsanne profile; Asian pear, white peach, blanched almond and just a touch of lanolin. I love the tension in this wine, one that perpetually borders on silky richness […]

Emmanuel Darnaud Mise en Bouche Crozes-Hermitage 2013

Emmanuel Darnaud Mise en Bouche Crozes-Hermitage 2013

Classic Crozes-Hermitage, the 2013 Emmanuel Darnaud Mise en Bouche is composed of 100% Syrah grown in gallet-studded Glacial alluvia. Brooding and baritone, the nose is laden in black fruit. Gamier notes and black olives evolve into blackberries steeped in fresh thyme, violets, and anise pastille. The attack is all black fruit, couched in firm, grippy […]

Yves Cuilleron Saint-Joseph L’Amarybelle 2012

Yves Cuilleron Saint-Joseph L'Amarybelle 2012

I would love to revisit this after its had another decade to develop, the 2012 Yves Cuilleron L’Amarybelle is classic Saint-Joseph with complex layers that unfurl at a leisurely pace, revealing notes of blackberries, balsamic, damp tilth, incense, bay leaf, pink peppercorn, and violets. On entry, the initial impression is one of silkiness—a bit deceiving, […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com