2015 Alain Voge St. Joseph Les Côtes

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 91.5 points

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  12/7/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  This is the first vintage in which the labels bears the Cru from where the biodynamically farmed fruit is sourced from: Les Côtes. The Cru is situated in the southern reaches of the St. Joseph appellation, south from Mauves, and the average vine age is 10 years, having been replanted from 1999 onward. 80-90% of the fruit is destemmed. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, macerated with the skins for a few weeks. Aged for 16 months in old 228-liter Burgundy pièces. Total production 5000 bottles and 50 magnums. 13% alcohol, 34 mg/l SO2. Tasted half-blind in a tasting of eleven 2015 Saint Joseph wines.
  
  Deep, youthful and luminous blackish-red color that permits almost no light through. The nose feels savory, somewhat evolved and very attractive with ripe aromas of dark forest fruits and crushed peppercorns, some sweeter notes of wizened blackberries, a little bit of gamey meat, light floral nuances, juicy hints of boysenberries and bilberries and a touch of earth. The wine is firm, crunchy and lively on the palate with a medium-to-moderately body and slightly evolved flavors of crunchy cranberries and brambly blackberries, some sour cherry bitterness, a little bit of ferrous blood, light gravelly mineral tones, a hint of smoked meat or bacon and a woody touch of savory oak spice. The wine feels pretty firm and structured with its high acidity and quite assertive medium-plus tannins that pile up on the gums and turn the wine moderately grippy. The finish is dry and sinewy with ample yet balanced tannic grip and a long, savory aftertaste of tart lingonberries and cranberries, some ripe red plum tones, a little bit of earth, light woody notes of savory oak spice, a hint of game and a touch of leather.
  
  A stern, meaty and classically styled southern-end St. Joe that isn't a delicate and fruity wine like those that come from the northern end of the appellation, but instead a wine that has quite much in common with those that come from Cornas, just a little bit south from the vineyards where this wine came from. However, this didn't come across as clumsy or extracted at any point, but instead showing some of that freshness and elegance that is the hallmark of the classic Saint-Joseph wines. The wine is pretty impressive, but perhaps a bit stern and tightly-knit at the moment, showing more potential for further aging. At first this wine was my favorite in our tasting, but in the end chose Vernay's La Dame Brune instead as it also showed good potential for future development, but also maybe a bit more finesse - and was definitely more accessible right now, even if the wine was going to get better with further aging. At 44€ this wine was priced according to its quality (and at just 24,70€, which was the price at which I had purchased my own bottles, this wine is a bargain). In our tasting the wine received four points from the ten participants, making it finish on third place.

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  11/6/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  This is the first vintage in which the labels bears the Cru from where the biodynamically farmed fruit is sourced from: Les Côtes. The Cru is situated in the southern reaches of the St. Joseph appellation, south from Mauves, and the average vine age is 10 years, having been replanted from 1999 onward. 80-90% of the fruit is destemmed. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, macerated with the skins for a few weeks. Aged for 16 months in old 228-liter Burgundy pièces. Total production 5000 bottles and 50 magnums. 13% alcohol, 34 mg/l SO2.
  
  Deep, dense and fully opaque black cherry color. Ripe yet savory and quite brooding nose with aromas of peppery spice and gamey meat, some fresh dark forest fruits, a little bit of sweet black cherry, light woody notes, a hint of ripe bilberry and a touch of earth. Although the wine opens up with air, the overall impression remains somewhat restrained and thoroughly classic in style. The wine is dense, textural and even somewhat muscular on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body and intense, youthful flavors of brambly blackberries, game and sanguine notes of iron, some tart lingonberry, light stony mineral tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, a hint of savory old wood and a touch of earth. Impressive sense of structure with its high acidity and moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The dry finish is lively and savory with a long, crunchy aftertaste of fresh blackberries and bilberries, some gamey tones, a little bit of peppery spice, light gravelly mineral notes, a hint of tart lingonberry and a touch of savory old wood spice.
  
  An excellent, stern and thoroughly old-school Saint Joseph that combines a surprisingly stern, structure-driven expression with that classic Saint Joseph freshness. After tasting several lighter, easy-drinking Saint Joseph wines, this was one step above in terms of both quality and seriousness, coming across as somewhat Cornas-or-Hermitage-like in its power and intensity, yet retaining the freshness and lightness that characterizes many St. Joes. This is also yet another 2015 Saint Joseph that doesn't seem to suffer from the solar 2015 vintage, but instead comes across as remarkably fresh and poised. However, as the wine feels still a bit closed and also still noticeably youthful in its expression, it's quite obvious that this wine might not show its best now, but will benefit from further aging - return to this in another 10 years or so. At 24,70€, this was a bargain.

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  8/3/2020 - Mid Palate Tingle wrote:

  Disjointed and not a great experience at the moment. Acidity stands out and tannins too much in evidence. Revisit in 2-3 years.

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  1/27/2018 - Bjorn62 wrote: 90 Points

  Dufter av røde bær og plommer med hint av lær. Nydelig frisk syre med en delikat og fersk fyldig frukt. Nydelig lengde med lette tanniner og en fersk utgang.

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