Purple in color. 13% ABV. Savory nose of dark fruits, olives, bacon fat and flowers. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity and balance. Loads of rich, rustic fruits. Black cherry, blueberry, smoke and gamey meats on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Delicious wine that improved with time in the glass and was even better on day two. Best over the next 2-3 years.
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Tasty and approachable. Notes of violets, lavender, blueberries, olives, toasted cinnamon, and white pepper. Doesn’t have the length and persistence of Halcon or Gonon, but it has enough to be a great daily wine.
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There's a chance that there was some degree of TCA taint or maybe this was simply tighter than a drum, even after a two hour decant. The fruit was muted, with all the earthy and savory notes turned up, which isn't something I would expect from Faury or from a warmer vintage like '15. On the plus side, even with the fruit lagging, it was still a pretty complex wine and a good foil for a very rich Beef Bourguignon.
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Deep but transparent ruby core. Beautiful aroma of violets, olive, and herb. Elegant medium weight, blackberry and blueberry fruit, herbs, fine acidity, gentle soil base, and moderate fine grained tannins. Yes, still young, but this was just delicious tonight. A refined honey of a St. Joseph.
Even better the next night with more herbal complexity and bitter chocolate. I love the texture and soil of this wine.
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Opened but did not need to decant. Paired with chicken/pork mixed grill leftovers and veggies. Dark murky crimson-purple. The expressive nose brings forest floor, violets, red roses, mint, eucalyptus, mesquite wood, and campfire. The palate is medium, round, supple, and elegant, bringing deep blueberry and blackberry notes mixed with high-toned black cherry and chocolate raspberries, along with beef brisket, tar, molasses, and some interesting herbs that flow into the juicy, tangy finish. Super impressed, even bigger hit with my wife. Drink 2021-2030. Technical score: 93. Enjoyment score: 93.
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Lovely violet nose, but in contrast to bottle drunk six weeks ago, this one was closed and tannic on the palate. C'est la vie. Cellared since original release.
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Blinded and rather lovely aromatics on the nose. Dark fruit, iron, meatiness, called Cote Rotie but coulda gone SJ. Palate had loads of structure, so probably could benefit from a few years of rest.
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A beautiful bottle, much more open than the one at the beginning of the year with spicy dark fruits in a medium-weight body, and quite racy. It could pass for a very good Côte-Rôtie. Cellared since original release.
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Almost opaque purple. Pine needles and smoke. Medium weight, not overly dense or thick. Juicy, lively blackberry, herb, and earth. Moderately tannic. Brisk and bold-stood up beautifully to barbecued meat.
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Decanted. Deep garnet in the glass. Classic syrah nose of black cherry, charred mesquite, leather, five spice, bone broth and violet. Rich and vivid ripeness on the palate with secondary savory tension, adding a melted stone mineral note to the mix. Round medium bodied middle with terrific integration of flavors and acid. Polished and thick tannins, with building closing flavors. I think the vintage lends some modern sheen to this, allowing for really nice early integration. It’ll be exciting as it ages. Great Northern Rhône Syrah by any measure, and always a great buy.
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Poured in a GGG glass and followed over the evening. Ripe purple fruit notes upfront, though not jumping out of the glass, mixed with black olive, smoke, and white pepper. The wine is dense and concentrated on the palate, with violet tones hiding behind the blackberry and black currant fruit. Tannins are smooth and gripping.
For someone who doesn’t drink syrah often, this was nice. Will open my other bottle in 8-10 years.
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A great St. Joseph; a nice food wine that is more savory than fruit based. I join in all comments of others below. Not much on the nose. A nice balance of herbs, vegetables and fruit on the palate. Good finish.
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This needs a few hours' decanting, but eventually it is silky smooth with spicy dark fruits -- a very satisfying wine. Cellared since original release.
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Olive, briney, grilled meat, ripe tomato (?) on the nose with the weight of fruit behind it. On the palate, deep plum and black fruit, spice, not too tannic. Just the right amount of juicy acidity to make this a great pairing with a sirloin bacon burger. Stellar and balanced!
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Such a great QPR! Amazing structure to this wine. Hard to believe it clocks in at 13% alcohol. Really great finish to this wine and suspect it will only improve with a bit more age.
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Super olive-y, couldn't get past that, super primary. Over the course of dinner I started to get more smoked meat notes. med+ body, high acidity and robust tanins, nice mouthfeel. Not that complex at the moment but fairly structured. Curious if age does anything to this, first time with this producer.
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Olives, red fruit, meaty, pepper, and a hint of green notes on the nose. Quite primary and tannic ok the palate with briny olives, übrige plum, and bitter notes on the palate. Good finish. This is drinking quite hard right now, but the potential is evident. Needs at least 5 years. Super promising and great QPR. 92-94
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2015 Northern Rhones Blind: Single blind. A really gorgeous nose that kept getting better. Pure bright black fruit, pepper, spice and musk. Good concentration of fruit with chewy, but still approachable, structural elements. The jammy-ness of the fruit helps to cloak the significant structure. This is such an underrated wine and still a serious bargain in the N. Rhone. Terrific.
Night 2 update: Wow - this is holding strong and is perhaps even more intense. Love the musk and pepper filled nose. So dense, pure and in balance.
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Most of the 2015 Northern Rhones worth a damn, blind (Chicago, IL): Served single blind. You know, I was pretty convinced that this was the Gonon until I actually got to the Gonon later in the line up. Intense black fruit, with a slightly purple character. The brine and olives are really played up here, and that's certainly a nice testament to this wine. More than pleased at the reveal -- this is a wine that easily punches above its weight, and I'm more than pleased to own some of them.
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Two hour decant and still very dense and fruity. A bit young and grapey but there is a lot of material to work with here. Wait a few years before trying another
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When you can find wines like this locally, at pricing like this, you tend to drink them way more frequently than you should. Tasty and somewhat primary right now...needs a good 5+yrs to really open up...and if you open one now, decant for a couple hours. I've done NONE of that on half a case! I seem to pnp these like no tomorrow! Dark liqueured berry fruits that are silky smooth with plushness, yet sappy and jazzed up with tart acidity and minerality. Juicy crushed berry fruit, smoked nuances, blood iron, black olive...VERY pretty violet, wood spice, cherry blossom florals...finishes with dusty dry tannins and white pepper spice kick. Doesn't blow me away like a captivating Gonon, or even the 05 Faury VV which got me hooked on this producer...but it does create HUGE satisfaction especially at the price point(for now) and availability. I just need to get one to age!
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One glass from a bottle opened 48 hours prior. Very concentrated and primary black fruits with intense spice character. Not at all heavy or jammy. Straight forward and fun now, but this will be much better in 10+ years.
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Decanted for 2 hours then back into the btl for another 30 minutes plus. This was pretty open and smooth from the moment I popped the cork but I decided to decant anyhow to optimize its chances of showing best. Closer to purple than red in color and semi opaque. Smokey aromas of dark berries, creosote and cured meat. The palate carries on with raspberry, herbs, meat, mineral, olive and something bitter almost hops like on the finish. The finish is almost bitter lager like. Cant's say that is particularly attractive flavor nor textural element. I deducted a point from my score for it. Hopefully it integrates and disappears from this otherwise very smooth of lifted energetic wine. I drink beer, maybe, twice a year and don't care for any of its flavor profiles showing up in my wines. All in all though, a very very balanced and intriguing old vine NR syrah.
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When first opened, this was heavier on the primary fruit than on the savory tones, with a juicy, fairly ripe palate of red and dark fruits; I tried this the next day, and the wine had opened up to reveal more meat and pepper notes to complement the forward fruit; Definitely in need of more time, but continues to be one of the best values in Northern Rhone syrah
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A nose of some dark fruit and some spices. dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red, with black cherry, raspberry, herbs and spices on finish, good not great. www.winelx.com
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yes, yes & yes. my kinda girl... dark, earthy, round (in all the right places). great balance of mineral and fruit. also proper ABV level at 13%. terrific straight out of the bottle, but will age nicely. the hard part will be keeping my hands off! definite buy. imported by Kermit Lynch.
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Nice, medium rich dark fruit, quite meaty, with silky texture, medium fairly fine tannins, slight sweetness of 2015 on the finish, very tasty, and quite drinkable at its young age.
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I decanted this young purple St. Joseph VV for three hours prior to drinking.
The tannins are very fine and well integrated. For such a young wine this Faury VV is showing fairly well and drinking better than other similar vintages at the same time. There is fine grained texture and refinement but also a certain elegance to the fruit. I pick up the spice and darker fruit on the moderately long finish and the old Vignes really show off the depth, opulence and moderately large structure. These are seductive young but the balance and voluptuous fruit will give this great aging capacity. A very nice wine and for $35 a great quality to price syrah. Buy some while you still can. Score 92+
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This showed so well despite its youth. Lots of dark berries, rocky minerals, pepper, vanilla and some dark florals on the nose palate is soft and robust with fine grainy tannis medium plus length at the price this is hljudt terrific value
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With all the critical hoopla attending Bordeaux and Burgundy in 2015, the Northern Rhone may have gotten short shrift. On the other hand, it pretty much always does, so what's new?
Turns out 2015 is outstanding for syrah as well, as I discovered tonight with this wine. I decided to double decant and start drinking immediately, though I sampled a few ounces straight from the bottle as well. It's a brilliant deep purple and opaque color. The nose is engaging and enveloping from the get-go, full of blackberry perfume, pepper, granitic minerality and with some air, a back note of fresh and inviting citrus, which I suppose must be connected to well-balanced acidity. Great refreshing fruit on the palate with considerable depth, with a little olive tapenade toward the finish. Tannins were initially full, persistent and quite drying, but within an hour following the decant had softened to being what I'd describe as a little furry. They add considerable length and indicate an auspicious future. Given the combination of depth and refreshment, it was no surprise to see it with labeled 13% ABV. A great St. Joseph.
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4/25/2024 - tomlee wrote: 91 Points
Purple in color. 13% ABV. Savory nose of dark fruits, olives, bacon fat and flowers. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity and balance. Loads of rich, rustic fruits. Black cherry, blueberry, smoke and gamey meats on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Delicious wine that improved with time in the glass and was even better on day two. Best over the next 2-3 years.
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9/17/2023 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasty and approachable. Notes of violets, lavender, blueberries, olives, toasted cinnamon, and white pepper. Doesn’t have the length and persistence of Halcon or Gonon, but it has enough to be a great daily wine.
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5/7/2023 - Easter Everywhere Likes this wine:
Fantastic now and likely to improve
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2/23/2023 - Seafoam Manor wrote:
There's a chance that there was some degree of TCA taint or maybe this was simply tighter than a drum, even after a two hour decant. The fruit was muted, with all the earthy and savory notes turned up, which isn't something I would expect from Faury or from a warmer vintage like '15. On the plus side, even with the fruit lagging, it was still a pretty complex wine and a good foil for a very rich Beef Bourguignon.
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6/4/2022 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deep but transparent ruby core. Beautiful aroma of violets, olive, and herb. Elegant medium weight, blackberry and blueberry fruit, herbs, fine acidity, gentle soil base, and moderate fine grained tannins. Yes, still young, but this was just delicious tonight. A refined honey of a St. Joseph.
Even better the next night with more herbal complexity and bitter chocolate. I love the texture and soil of this wine.
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5/17/2022 - vino vidi vici Likes this wine:
Grace, class, depth of flavor - delicious. Plenty of life, no rush. Love French Syrah!
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2/16/2022 - Tubulus wrote:
Third Tuesday Group - My 4 / group 6. Darker fruit than many of the others but nice violets and good acidity.
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3/31/2021 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened but did not need to decant. Paired with chicken/pork mixed grill leftovers and veggies. Dark murky crimson-purple. The expressive nose brings forest floor, violets, red roses, mint, eucalyptus, mesquite wood, and campfire. The palate is medium, round, supple, and elegant, bringing deep blueberry and blackberry notes mixed with high-toned black cherry and chocolate raspberries, along with beef brisket, tar, molasses, and some interesting herbs that flow into the juicy, tangy finish. Super impressed, even bigger hit with my wife. Drink 2021-2030. Technical score: 93. Enjoyment score: 93.
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1/25/2021 - davidb18 Likes this wine: 92 Points
One of the best from St. Joseph.
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12/18/2020 - cfk49 wrote: 88 Points
Lovely violet nose, but in contrast to bottle drunk six weeks ago, this one was closed and tannic on the palate. C'est la vie. Cellared since original release.
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11/22/2020 - mye wrote:
Blinded and rather lovely aromatics on the nose. Dark fruit, iron, meatiness, called Cote Rotie but coulda gone SJ. Palate had loads of structure, so probably could benefit from a few years of rest.
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11/7/2020 - cfk49 wrote: 93 Points
A beautiful bottle, much more open than the one at the beginning of the year with spicy dark fruits in a medium-weight body, and quite racy. It could pass for a very good Côte-Rôtie. Cellared since original release.
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10/27/2020 - drwine2001 wrote:
Almost opaque purple. Pine needles and smoke. Medium weight, not overly dense or thick. Juicy, lively blackberry, herb, and earth. Moderately tannic. Brisk and bold-stood up beautifully to barbecued meat.
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10/27/2020 - cheZ joZef Likes this wine: 92 Points
Young but it’s all there as others describe much more eloquently.
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8/28/2020 - MattMauldin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted. Deep garnet in the glass. Classic syrah nose of black cherry, charred mesquite, leather, five spice, bone broth and violet. Rich and vivid ripeness on the palate with secondary savory tension, adding a melted stone mineral note to the mix. Round medium bodied middle with terrific integration of flavors and acid. Polished and thick tannins, with building closing flavors. I think the vintage lends some modern sheen to this, allowing for really nice early integration. It’ll be exciting as it ages. Great Northern Rhône Syrah by any measure, and always a great buy.
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5/9/2020 - rieslinghoarder Likes this wine: 91 Points
Poured in a GGG glass and followed over the evening. Ripe purple fruit notes upfront, though not jumping out of the glass, mixed with black olive, smoke, and white pepper. The wine is dense and concentrated on the palate, with violet tones hiding behind the blackberry and black currant fruit. Tannins are smooth and gripping.
For someone who doesn’t drink syrah often, this was nice. Will open my other bottle in 8-10 years.
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3/20/2020 - davidb18 Likes this wine: 90 Points
A great St. Joseph; a nice food wine that is more savory than fruit based. I join in all comments of others below. Not much on the nose. A nice balance of herbs, vegetables and fruit on the palate. Good finish.
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2/26/2020 - davidb18 Likes this wine: 90 Points
smooth, fresh, simple; excellent.
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2/26/2020 - cfk49 wrote: 90 Points
This needs a few hours' decanting, but eventually it is silky smooth with spicy dark fruits -- a very satisfying wine. Cellared since original release.
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8/17/2019 - Eric.S Likes this wine: 91 Points
Olive, briney, grilled meat, ripe tomato (?) on the nose with the weight of fruit behind it. On the palate, deep plum and black fruit, spice, not too tannic. Just the right amount of juicy acidity to make this a great pairing with a sirloin bacon burger. Stellar and balanced!
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5/2/2019 - kosdogger wrote: 92 Points
Such a great QPR! Amazing structure to this wine. Hard to believe it clocks in at 13% alcohol. Really great finish to this wine and suspect it will only improve with a bit more age.
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12/9/2018 - JOsgood wrote: 90 Points
Very tasty and a proper burger wine. Nicely balanced.
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11/14/2018 - mrbry83 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Super olive-y, couldn't get past that, super primary. Over the course of dinner I started to get more smoked meat notes. med+ body, high acidity and robust tanins, nice mouthfeel. Not that complex at the moment but fairly structured. Curious if age does anything to this, first time with this producer.
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10/30/2018 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 93 Points
Olives, red fruit, meaty, pepper, and a hint of green notes on the nose. Quite primary and tannic ok the palate with briny olives, übrige plum, and bitter notes on the palate. Good finish. This is drinking quite hard right now, but the potential is evident. Needs at least 5 years. Super promising and great QPR. 92-94
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10/27/2018 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
2015 Northern Rhones Blind: Single blind. A really gorgeous nose that kept getting better. Pure bright black fruit, pepper, spice and musk. Good concentration of fruit with chewy, but still approachable, structural elements. The jammy-ness of the fruit helps to cloak the significant structure. This is such an underrated wine and still a serious bargain in the N. Rhone. Terrific.
Night 2 update: Wow - this is holding strong and is perhaps even more intense. Love the musk and pepper filled nose. So dense, pure and in balance.
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10/27/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Most of the 2015 Northern Rhones worth a damn, blind (Chicago, IL): Served single blind. You know, I was pretty convinced that this was the Gonon until I actually got to the Gonon later in the line up. Intense black fruit, with a slightly purple character. The brine and olives are really played up here, and that's certainly a nice testament to this wine. More than pleased at the reveal -- this is a wine that easily punches above its weight, and I'm more than pleased to own some of them.
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9/23/2018 - murkybird wrote: 91 Points
Two hour decant and still very dense and fruity. A bit young and grapey but there is a lot of material to work with here. Wait a few years before trying another
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8/25/2018 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 93 Points
When you can find wines like this locally, at pricing like this, you tend to drink them way more frequently than you should. Tasty and somewhat primary right now...needs a good 5+yrs to really open up...and if you open one now, decant for a couple hours. I've done NONE of that on half a case! I seem to pnp these like no tomorrow! Dark liqueured berry fruits that are silky smooth with plushness, yet sappy and jazzed up with tart acidity and minerality. Juicy crushed berry fruit, smoked nuances, blood iron, black olive...VERY pretty violet, wood spice, cherry blossom florals...finishes with dusty dry tannins and white pepper spice kick. Doesn't blow me away like a captivating Gonon, or even the 05 Faury VV which got me hooked on this producer...but it does create HUGE satisfaction especially at the price point(for now) and availability. I just need to get one to age!
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6/17/2018 - Nanda Likes this wine: 93 Points
One glass from a bottle opened 48 hours prior. Very concentrated and primary black fruits with intense spice character. Not at all heavy or jammy. Straight forward and fun now, but this will be much better in 10+ years.
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4/30/2018 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 2 hours then back into the btl for another 30 minutes plus. This was pretty open and smooth from the moment I popped the cork but I decided to decant anyhow to optimize its chances of showing best. Closer to purple than red in color and semi opaque. Smokey aromas of dark berries, creosote and cured meat. The palate carries on with raspberry, herbs, meat, mineral, olive and something bitter almost hops like on the finish. The finish is almost bitter lager like. Cant's say that is particularly attractive flavor nor textural element. I deducted a point from my score for it. Hopefully it integrates and disappears from this otherwise very smooth of lifted energetic wine. I drink beer, maybe, twice a year and don't care for any of its flavor profiles showing up in my wines. All in all though, a very very balanced and intriguing old vine NR syrah.
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2/7/2018 - eluebchow wrote: 92 Points
When first opened, this was heavier on the primary fruit than on the savory tones, with a juicy, fairly ripe palate of red and dark fruits; I tried this the next day, and the wine had opened up to reveal more meat and pepper notes to complement the forward fruit; Definitely in need of more time, but continues to be one of the best values in Northern Rhone syrah
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2/4/2018 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 89 Points
A nose of some dark fruit and some spices. dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red, with black cherry, raspberry, herbs and spices on finish, good not great. www.winelx.com
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1/30/2018 - vino vidi vici Likes this wine:
yes, yes & yes. my kinda girl... dark, earthy, round (in all the right places). great balance of mineral and fruit. also proper ABV level at 13%. terrific straight out of the bottle, but will age nicely. the hard part will be keeping my hands off! definite buy. imported by Kermit Lynch.
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10/8/2017 - alanr wrote: 91 Points
Nice, medium rich dark fruit, quite meaty, with silky texture, medium fairly fine tannins, slight sweetness of 2015 on the finish, very tasty, and quite drinkable at its young age.
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9/2/2017 - Johnnybegood Likes this wine: 92 Points
I decanted this young purple St. Joseph VV for three hours prior to drinking.
The tannins are very fine and well integrated. For such a young wine this Faury VV is showing fairly well and drinking better than other similar vintages at the same time. There is fine grained texture and refinement but also a certain elegance to the fruit. I pick up the spice and darker fruit on the moderately long finish and the old Vignes really show off the depth, opulence and moderately large structure. These are seductive young but the balance and voluptuous fruit will give this great aging capacity. A very nice wine and for $35 a great quality to price syrah. Buy some while you still can. Score 92+
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6/10/2017 - eoinhharkins wrote:
This showed so well despite its youth. Lots of dark berries, rocky minerals, pepper, vanilla and some dark florals on the nose palate is soft and robust with fine grainy tannis medium plus length at the price this is hljudt terrific value
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6/4/2017 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 Points
With all the critical hoopla attending Bordeaux and Burgundy in 2015, the Northern Rhone may have gotten short shrift. On the other hand, it pretty much always does, so what's new?
Turns out 2015 is outstanding for syrah as well, as I discovered tonight with this wine. I decided to double decant and start drinking immediately, though I sampled a few ounces straight from the bottle as well. It's a brilliant deep purple and opaque color. The nose is engaging and enveloping from the get-go, full of blackberry perfume, pepper, granitic minerality and with some air, a back note of fresh and inviting citrus, which I suppose must be connected to well-balanced acidity. Great refreshing fruit on the palate with considerable depth, with a little olive tapenade toward the finish. Tannins were initially full, persistent and quite drying, but within an hour following the decant had softened to being what I'd describe as a little furry. They add considerable length and indicate an auspicious future. Given the combination of depth and refreshment, it was no surprise to see it with labeled 13% ABV. A great St. Joseph.
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