The most magical wines from Europe’s now-legendary 2015 vintage are those which retained their sense of place in the face of often-extreme ripeness. Today’s Saint-Joseph from Vignobles Verzier is one such wine: It boldly asserts itself without masking its terroir character with excess extract, and if there’s any doubt as to Saint-Joseph’s capacity for greatness, this one would surely extinguish it.
This is stunning wine, and although I’ve always had a soft spot for northern Rhône Syrah, ‘15s like this one are on another level altogether. Gorgeous aromatics, deep and satisfying black and blue fruit, smoky earth, cured meat, black pepper...this is a one-stop Master Class in top-quality Rhône Syrah at a price that really defies logic. Verzier is a perennial favorite grower of ours—a family-run property that embraced ‘natural’ winemaking (with minimal sulphur additions) long before it was fashionable and which consistently delivers some of the most soulful and age-worthy wine in the appellation. Looking to add to your cellar without going broke? This is as shrewd as it gets when it comes to ‘collectible’ northern Rhône red. Take as much as you can fit; I guarantee you won’t regret it—even if you discover a bottle buried in your cellar 20 years from now!
Saint-Joseph is one of most iconic landscapes in the world, showcasing a staggering number of terraced vineyards that were painstakingly created over generations. Vignobles Verzier is headquartered in the village of Chavanay—located in the cooler, more ‘continental’ northern reaches of the St-Joseph AOC, not far from Condrieu and Côte Rôtie—and they can trace their origins here back to 1828. Farmed organically since the 1960s and certified since 2010, the estate, called “Chante-Perdrix” (“singing partridge”), is run by hands-on proprietors Philippe and Isabelle Verzier. Philippe took control of the farming operations at just 19 years old after the death of his father. At the time, all grapes were sold off to cooperatives, but Philippe took it upon himself to begin estate-bottling. Today, his son Maxime assists with winemaking and is eager to continue the family tradition.
For “Empreinte” (“footprint”), the Verziers select fruit from southeast-facing hillside vineyards that reach upwards of 1,000 feet in elevation. Soils are largely granitic with light sand and vines are an average age of 25 years old. With organic practices in place since the mid-1960s, you can find them using organic compost and herbal tea treatments in their pruned vineyards. Grapes are hand harvested, twice-sorted, and 90% de-stemmed in the winery. A long, natural fermentation of 3-4 weeks takes place in a combination of stainless steel and concrete vessels with a once-daily pump over and punch down (for greater skin contact and overall immersion). The majority of the wine is then transferred into 500-liter demi-muids for 12 months before being bottled with a light filtration.
Verzier’s 2015 rendition of “Empreinte” flaunts a vibrant dark crimson core with purple reflections and shoulders ripe blue and black fruit alongside savory elegance. If you are a northern Rhône Syrah lover, this is one of the most classic and honest representations you’ll find, and one that will age gracefully for many years. It makes a case for Saint-Joseph as convincingly as any wine I’ve tried from the region: Freshly-picked blueberry, black raspberry, and huckleberry are melded together, followed by crème de cassis, damp violets, wildflowers, underbrush, black pepper, wild mushrooms, olive tapenade, and exotic spices. Tannins are soft and fresh waves of acidity persist throughout, making this accessible right now, though it will unfold gracefully over the next 10+ years. You can expect increasing layers of savor and earth as years pass by, so I highly advise you save a few bottles to open 7-8 years from now. When consuming, decant 15-30 minutes and serve in Burgundy stems alongside these lamb burgers with a fresh olive tapenade. Cheers!
