2016 Dard et Ribo St. Joseph Pitrou

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90.7 points

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  1/16/2021 - forceberry wrote: 86 Points

  A single-vineyard St. Joseph from "Pitrou" plot (aka L'Echirol). 1/3 of the grapes destemmed, the rest vinified as whole bunches. Spontaneous fermentation, macerated with the skins for 2-3 weeks, aged for 10-12 months in old, neutral 600-liter demi-muids. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and without any sulfites. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Youthful, dense and almost fully opaque inky crimson color. Wild, inky and rather high-toned nose with fruit-driven aromas of ripe blackberries, some carbonic estery notes, little bit of lifted VA, light juicy blueberry tones and a sharp hint of acetic character. The wine is lively, quite wild and slightly smutty on the palate with a medium body and flavors of ripe blackberries, sharp aldehydic tang, some peppery spice, light acetic notes of VA, a little bit of crunchy cranberry and a gamey hint of blood. The overall feel is juice, fresh and delicate, thanks to the high acidity and very soft and easy tannins, but the animal notes, acetic VA and subtly aldehydic nuances lend a rather natty feel to the wine. The finish is fresh, lively and rather wild with flavors of brambly blackberries, some acetic notes of VA, a little bit of ferrous blood, light blueberry tones, a hint of animal funk and a touch of tangy aldehydic salinity.
  
  A fresh and fruity but also rather natty St. Joseph that comes across as a bit too sauvage for my taste. I don't mind the slightly animale notes of brett here, but the wines is starting to suffer from the elevated levels of acetic VA that lend a sharp and somewhat vinegary feel to the wine, distracting a bit from the vibrant fruit and sheer drinkability and making the wine feel more a generic natty wine rather than a pure and fresh Saint Joseph. This was somewhat recognizable for a Syrah, thanks to its peppery tones and blackberry-driven fruit, but it was pretty difficult if not impossible to pinpoint the wine to any specific place. While Dard & Ribo wines can be just wonderful when they are good, I wasn't that enthusiastic about this cuvée.

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  4/22/2019 - jviz wrote: 94 Points

  High toned and delicious tart red fruit. Wow.

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  7/25/2018 - LW31 Likes this wine:

  Rather grumpy tonight. High VA. Nose is shut down. Nowhere near style and energy of the Bâties served alongside.

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  6/5/2018 - saturnaisland wrote: 92 Points

  Rich, clean dark fruit with some tannins in the background. Voluptuous. By the second day hints of raw red meat a bit more apparent, blended with dark berry and cherry. No obvious intrusive oak. A very pleasurable wine; very much in the house style that I look forward to year after year.

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