3/11/2021 - Jon Harrison Likes this wine:

(North Berkeley Wine Imports)

Color: Dark to very dark ruby. (Impressive.)

Nose: Beautiful, complex, dark, dangerous, soil-inflected. Classic northern Rhône nose of black/purple plum, blackberry, black raspberry, violet, smoke, and dark damp soil. Classic. Beautiful.

Clean (no brett). Rustic yet elegant. Amazing nose!

Palate: Full body, yet light on its feet (with alcohol at 13.5%). Excellent concentration (extract). Old vines! Rich, old school mouthful of black plum, blackberry, and black raspberry Syrah. Then... definitely slight tart on the finish and sl tight tannins (stems). Definitely old school style.

For me: Authentic, dark, old style, elegant, slightly rustic, slightly tannic, tiny production, GREAT vieilles vignes St.-Joseph. God, I love this wine. This wine speaks to me. This wine takes me there.

94: solid.
Peak drinking: 2022 to 2028.

Religious with Duck Confit, warm lentils vinaigrette, and potatoes cooked in duck fat. Or lamb daube. Or lamb provençal.

JGH sommelier CMS III, SF/Bay Area, CA.

4/19/2019 - vide Does not like this wine:

I agree with Marvini (see below) - this is truly dreadful. The alcohol content is 15.5, which means that instead of complex flavour you get a bang on the head. Nose = stringent dark fruit, closed, but will it ever open?; taste = thin, acidic, gesturing, once again, to a dark fruit of an indefinable nature.

This is not the first time that I have drunk an over-alcoholised CNP. What are they trying to hide? I have bought a number of wines from this domaine (thankfully only in small amounts), but old Julien needs to pull his or her socks up.

3/14/2017 - henrygjeffreys wrote:

Very oxidative nose - bruised apples, nutty, sherried and some VA
Long and tangy
Very much an acquired taste but if you like the style then it's very good