Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/21/2010 (link)

  (BOUTIN St. Joseph Parcelle de Jean) Syrah Dear Friends, ...speaking of this weekend's wine fair in Ampuis (and a wine I'd like to get out there now rather than wait around to pick up the scraps next week), how about Stephane Vedeau's wunderkind of Syrah - the St. Joseph Parcelle de Jean? If Vedeau's Hermitage and Cote Rotie were a bit on the pricey side for you, here's your chance to imbibe at 1/3 the tariff with no loss of quality. If critical attention and price/value mean anything, this is probably Vedeau's most admired wine. Last year's 2006 version of the Parcelle de Jean was one of only two examples in all of St. Joseph that the Guide Hachette singled out as the best of the best, above all other examples. The scary part? Vedeau thinks the 2007 is better. From one of the golden nugget vineyards in the newly-cool upper reaches of St. Joseph (i.e. cold in temperature and cool, as in beatnik "cool"), the Parcelle de Jean has everyone from Gonan to Ribo in applause. This is real Syrah, slathered with an unmistakable swath of solid mineral and carnivorous tones that never detract from the high-altitude femininity and soaring perfume that only comes from the rolling crest of land on the western shore of the Rhone River between Saint-Colombe and Cornas. Vedeau farms this very steep, stone-terraced plot in a similar way to his holdings above Ampuis and he crafts this St. Joseph in an unusual style - adding 1-2% Roussane or Viognier akin to Cote Rotie. The entire vineyard is only 1.00-2.00ha and the vines yield a relatively small amount of fruit but the granite, schist and limestone mix makes for a heady aromatic and enticing palate presence. As in his Cote Rotie, part of the material is raised in traditional cement and vat and the other portion in large barrels. Very little sulfur is used and the entire process relies on natural methods. If you admire St. Joseph and its femininity but also yearn for a more robust framework found across the river in Hermitage, this wine gives you both with a lightness of being from the high-elevation and rocky sub-soil. On a humorous note, the French authorities have decided that this vineyard (and many of the most prized parcels used by the vintners I often mention such as Dard et Ribo, Gonan, Souhaut, Miquettes and others) will be declassified in the year 2020 because the government does not believe the high elevation is capable of producing St. Joseph with the desired character of the lower elevation, higher alcohol/warmer sites. Thankfully, the French Government is looking out for your best interests. What a joke. VERY RARE and VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEDED as a world-class example of Northern Rhone terroir: 2007 Jeanine Boutin (Vedeau) St. Joseph "Parcelle de Jean" Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone2399