Today’s wine fits the SommSelect model perfectly. Nothing gets us more pumped than a wine that performs at (or above) the level of more-expensive, or more “prestigious,” contemporaries. Those of you who know and love Northern Rhône Syrah will appreciate today’s Saint-Joseph for its proximity to Côte-Rôtie, both in style/quality and in reality—François Merlin’s small estate, headquartered in Condrieu and including vineyard holdings on either side in Saint-Joseph and Côte-Rôtie, is a source of impeccably made Syrah and Viognier alike.
It all starts with Merlin’s obsessive vineyard work, which he first learned in the eighties working for Rhône great René Rostaing, and continues with relentless experimentation in the cellar, where he is assisted by his son, Laurent. In addition to his acclaimed Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie bottlings (which are reasonably priced as well), we were mightily impressed with this 2016 Saint-Joseph, which over-performs to the ‘Nth’ degree: Sourced from a few tiny plots in the village of Chavanay, right at the northern tip of the Saint-Joseph appellation, this is pitch-perfect, age-worthy Rhône Syrah that would likely flummox even the keenest experts in a blind tasting. As I’ve been finding more and more lately, Saint-Joseph continues to be one of the best-kept secrets in French wine—taste this one and see for yourself!
As I review the year’s Saint-Joseph offers, I notice we’ve featured a bunch from the “original” six villages that comprised the appellation (AOC). These towns, including Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, Tournon, and Mauves, are home to some of our favorite producers and are, famously, right across the Rhône River from the storied Hermitage hill. But since the appellation was first codified in the 1950s, it has expanded to cover a 30-mile stretch of the Rhône, and at the very northern tip of this stretch sits Chavanay—where Merlin’s 1.2 hectares of vines perch on slopes of decomposed granite. Altitudes in some spots climb past 400 meters, and whereas many of our favorites from further south mimic Hermitage in their meaty richness, today’s ’16 reaches northward to Côte-Rôtie for inspiration, showing off lots of cool-climate nerve, violet-scented perfume, and peppery, meaty earth. It’s a Syrah of considerable depth and energy alike, and one of my first thoughts upon tasting it was how delicious it will be with some further bottle aging.
But then my next thought is always: “But will people age a $39 bottle of Saint-Joseph? Is that the kind of label they want on the display rack in their cellar?” Well, all I can say is, they should. They absolutely should. If you collect wines to drink, not merely to resell, this one will reward you handsomely over the next 5-7 years (and probably appreciate in value to boot).
Merlin’s 2016 is firm, fragrant, and varietally spot-on, representing the Northern Rhône in grand style. The hand-harvested fruit was destemmed, fermented in stainless steel, and aged in a mixture of 228-liter and 600-liter French oak barrels, of which 20%-30% are new. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby-purple moving to magenta at the rim, with a beautiful assortment of sweet and savory sensation on the nose and palate: blackberries, blueberries, pomegranate, wet violets, lavender, black pepper, bay leaf, roasted meat, and tapenade. Medium-plus in body and briskly refreshing, it has some grip to its tannins that will soften with time in a decanter (45 minutes or so) or in your cellar. We loved its upright, Côte-Rôtie-like posture and can’t wait to crack another bottle soon, provided there’s food: Serve this at 60-65 degrees in large Bordeaux stems with a slightly gamier cut of meat like lamb, duck, or venison. I’d suggest subbing-out the “hot” paprika in the attached recipe, but otherwise the spice mix looks like a good one for this terrific Syrah. Enjoy!
