February 27, 2023 - Red fruited with firm acidity. One of the few syrahs with significant olive notes. Not quite as good as Dard Ribo but very nice.
February 21, 2022 - Decanted briefly. Dark, peppery Syrah with interesting, complex nose of pipe tobacco and herbs. Relaxed and savory on the palate.
August 13, 2021 - This was a strange one. An extremely peppery, funky nose that didn't go away as the night wore on. On the palate it wasn't that extreme, but it had an acidic, almost grapefruity edge that made some guess it as burgundy blind, along with a dose of funk and spice and not enough fruit to back it up. Maybe this will get better with age, but extremely awkward right now.
December 24, 2020 - Fairly dense, dark fruited, natural wine funk; I think a dollop of brett, especially on the nose. Still young and tannic. Sealed for a revisit tomorrow.
Addendum:
So much better on night two. The off-putting aromas blew off, so it was not Brett, just some young Northern Rhone funk. Now it's dark red fruited, iron and blood and tannins, a little cured meat. Very nice, and one of the bigger improvements from night one to night two; glad I didn't follow my inclination pour it out.
July 22, 2020 - Much better than my last bottle earlier this month (and, maybe paradoxically, why I won't buy much of these in the future). Bright, clean and sharply delineated with no flaws on the nose or palate. Notes of pine and herbs on the nose with a pure acidic rush on the palate. It went extremely well with sautéed pork medallions, the acidity working well with the fattiness of the pork.
I'd buy more if they were reliably like this. But they're not, in my experience - my last bottle was pretty poor - which is a shame because it would be interesting to age these for 15 years and see what happens.
July 9, 2020 - A sharp, slightly burnt taste on the finish suggested that all was not entirely well with this bottle. I’m not sure this was technically “flawed” - seems like a style thing rather than a flaw thing- but the style is a bit off putting and the variability suggests it’s not great value, all things considered.
May 12, 2018 - Lovely hints of savory meat on the nose, but wickedly astringent and limited on the palate. Nothing like a wonderfully savory bottle I had in Berlin last year; this tastes like it's straight from the womb.
On day 2, the palate is more Beaujolais like with bright blue fruit, notes of iron and dried herbs, moderate astringence, but the finish shows that characteristic savory, reductive character typical of Northern Rhone syrah. The structure still rules the day here. A puzzling and frustrating bottle that seems to need a significant slumber.
November 21, 2017 - Wow! What a find from Garagiste! Although young, this is drinking beautifully with deep, dark, mineral body and a long subtle finish. It held up about the same on the second day. Great QPR for this terroir-driven Syrah.
April 20, 2017 - On the nose, fresh, vivid red fruit, predominantly cranberry. Some baking spices? Wow - what an interesting nose. Just want to keep smelling it. One of the most gorgeous St. Joseph noses ever. In the mouth it is beautifully acidic. Brilliant red fruit - again the cranberry but also a dusty earthiness (whole cluster?). Prominent chalky minerality, especially on the finish. Quite chalky but in such an arresting way. Lingering finish - fine-grained drying tannins but mostly the chalkiness finishes the wine but he acidity lingers, making the mouth continue to water. It's out of the norm but in all of the good ways.
January 30, 2017 - Fresh and balanced st. joseph. Gorgeous peppery syrah fruit with depth and detail. Speaks of northern rhone in a friendly, but confident kind of way. There's an inherent structure to the wine, but the tannins are silky and the abv is low. Clearly a serious effort with solid potential for positive development.