St Joseph's Day

Must & Lees, Warren Street
Tasted Thursday, March 19, 2026 by NickA with 16 views

Introduction

19 March is literally St Joseph's Day, so we assembled a mixed bag of the aforementioned as well as a couple of ringers, to make a good assessment of the appellation.

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 2022 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Much paler than the Chave, and with a heady and brighter, more fruit-driven nose than its flight-mate's. Pleasingly light on its feet on the palate, with peach, green apple and oregano. A svelte, well-defined wine - really enjoyable. My favourite white tonight.

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  • 2018 J.L. Chave Sélection Saint-Joseph Circa 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Lots of good things on the nose: honeycomb, nougat and cereal, with a sweetish tinge (as you can imagine). Big on the palate, both chewy from extract and with a glycerol thickness, and with big, bitter flavours of poached pear and pear drops. There's not much acidity, and drinking more than a glass might prove increasingly challenging, but the bitterness was sufficient to make this a good wine, and the persistent finish also helped. Promising start (although I like this style more than most).

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 2013 E. Guigal Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit St. Joseph Blanc 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Has held up remarkably well, and in a very good place currently. Rounded and with good typicity, but with notable steel, drive and grip. Ultimately more drinkable, if less characterful, than flight one's whites.

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  • 2023 E. Guigal Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit St. Joseph Blanc 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    My bottle. Oddly looks no different to the 2013 alongside, although it does have a much younger and fruitier character. Succulent and heady nose, with some Viognier-like exoticism and a touch of alcoholic warmth. There's a youthful almost-spritz and generous weight of exuberant fruit on the palate, which was not exactly sweet but certainly showed some influence from the alcohol. Overall pretty exciting, and for me slightly ahead of the 2013 today.

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 E. Guigal Saint-Joseph 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    A promising nose, which was reticent but showed a decent amount of attractive dark fruit. Less punch on the palate, which was a little attenuated and very dry, but had gorgeous notes of fresh and dried strawberry; I didn't find it especially savoury, but I would drink up before it fades. A good advert for ageing wine.

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  • 2012 Ferraton Père & Fils Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Much younger than the Guigal and accordingly much more fruit-driven. There's also still a touch of new oak on the nose, too. It's a very pretty wine on the palate, with gorgeous blackberry fruit and a soft, Burgundian finish. One of my favourite wines tonight.

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2017 André Perret Saint-Joseph 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Earthy, mineral nose, though there's lots of fruit on the palate. It's a tasty wine, charming enough, but too easy and soft to have authority or excitement.

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  • 2017 Delas Frères Saint-Joseph Cuvée Francois de Tournon 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    More Syrah character here, and although there's more stature than the Perret it's still ultimately a fruit-driven and relatively lighthearted wine. The full spectrum of forest fruits and decent length.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 2018 François Villard Saint-Joseph Reflet 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Surprisingly evolved and very charismatic, although this wine did seem divisive around the table! Lots to the bouquet: game, earth, heady flowers. It's dark and ultra-juicy on the palate, with an earthy, bitter purple fruit character that made me salivate. What fun.

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  • 2019 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    The pre-match favourite shone as expected. Such a compelling nose, with notes of hot pine (like a sauna), dirty Martini and Tiger Balm. There's a purity and urgency that's almost too aggressive. So incisive and so concentrated on the palate, with a strong note of violets wreathing the core of dark fruit. Certainly ready to enjoy: I loved it.

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Flight 6 (2 Notes)

  • 2015 Domaine du Tunnel (Stéphane Robert) Saint-Joseph 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    A satisfying and complete nose, with elements of malt and undergrowth as well as the obligatory dark fruit. Pretty full-bodied on the palate, with a reasonably long, soft finish. A good wine, with soul, presumably benefiting from being the product of a top vintage.

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  • 2016 J.L. Chave Sélection Hermitage The Wine Society's Exhibition Hermitage 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Strong and dark on the nose, with a touch of reduction. It has good length and a nice bite on the palate, but it's also simple and shows more warmth than I'd expect from a '16 (or than I would like). Pleasant enough but lacks the structure or complexity to avoid being generic.

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Flight 7 (2 Notes)

  • 2020 Pierre Gaillard Saint-Joseph Clos de Cuminaille 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    A dark colour, but there's already some development in the form of a gamey feel to the nose. Quite red-fruited on the palate, quite powerful, somehow both pure and dirty at the same time.

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  • 2022 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granilites 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Lots of brine on the juicy, dark-fruited nose, giving a Dirty Martini character. Dark on the palate, with a touch of cocoa and a salty finish. Another wine that's decent enough but feels as though it lacks stature.

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Flight 8 (1 Note)

  • 2021 Porseleinberg Swartland 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

    A final ringer to help us calibrate things. Whilst this certainly didn't match the Gonon (IMO), it was an excellent wine. Pure, deep, captivating and charismatic. There's a pleasing element of rawness and rusticity and then a tart finish. Was served slightly warm and seemed to shut down in the glass, but very promising.

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Closing

As is obvious from the notes, there were some good wines, but our overall impression was a bit 'meh'. Whilst mostly not expensive, these wines also aren't inexpensive, and they lacked the complexity, thrill and oomph I would have wanted in a midrange Rhone Syrah; there was just too much softness and lack and character. Aside from Gonon and Porseleinberg (which I already buy where possible to do so at a reasonable price), I didn't feel the need to try any of these again.

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