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Aurélien Chatagnier, Saint-Joseph “La Sybarite”

Rhône Valley, France 2016 (750mL)
$42.00
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Aurélien Chatagnier, Saint-Joseph “La Sybarite”

Looking back at 2018, I would rank the Northern Rhône region of Saint-Joseph among the world’s most dynamic wine appellations right now. Like Beaujolais, or Galicia, or Oregon, Saint-Joseph is still a place where a young producer like Aurélien Chatagnier (who’s not from a wine family but caught the bug in a major way) can afford to put down real roots and make something both great and under-priced to boot.
We’ve seen a flurry of transcendent Saint-Joseph wines land on our tasting table, many of them from next-generation vignerons like Chatagnier, who’ve picked up the mantle from legends such as Trollat and Gonon and put out Syrahs that rank among the Rhône’s very best. Today’s 2016, aptly named “La Sybarite” for the hedonistic pleasure it delivers, is not merely an ‘alternative’ to more-expensive Côte-Rôtie or Cornas; this is what you might call a destination wine. Displaying the granitic minerality and lifted perfume the greatest Rhône Syrahs are known for, La Sybarite is very serious. It’s the kind of wine that makes me want to travel forward in time, to about three years from now, when it promises to be downright spectacular. It’s already a textured, fine-tuned, headily aromatic wonder that, like the Energizer Bunny, keeps going and going and going. We ran out of superlatives when we tried it, and if you’re looking for cellar-worthy Northern Rhône Syrah that won’t break the bank, a case of this would make an incredibly shrewd investment. This is a winemaker to watch and a wine guaranteed to increase in value (and deliciousness) over time.
Aurélien Chatagnier started working in vineyards as a teenager, at Domaine Jamet no less, after which he spent several years working under another Northern Rhône icon, François Villard. He first went out on his own in 2002 with a one-hectare vineyard, and has since grown his holdings to 10 hectares, including Saint-Joseph vineyards in and around the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf. This is close to the northern boundary of the Saint-Joseph AOC, about 15 kilometers from Côte-Rôtie’s anchor town, Ampuis. Chatagnier’s vineyards strongly resemble those of Côte-Rôtie, with extremely steep pitches and granitic soils, so it should be no surprise that this wine strongly resembles Côte-Rôtie in structure, perfume, and detail (he also makes wines from Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, and Condrieu, burnishing his credentials as one of the best young winemakers in the Rhône).

La Sybarite is Chatagnier’s selection of his best lots in a given vintage, sourced from about 3.5 hectares of organically grown vines. Average vine age is about 30 years, and the fruit is completely de-stemmed before a natural yeast fermentation in fiberglass tanks. It aged a little over a year in French oak barrels (2/3 new) before bottling. Just 2,400 bottles in total were produced, and boy am I glad we got our hands on a few.

The first things you’ll notice about this 2016 are its purity and energy. It starts out fine-tuned and fragrant, then broadens considerably with time in the glass. It pours a youthful purple-ruby with pink and magenta highlights, with perfumed aromas of blackberry, red and black plum, pomegranate, black pepper, violets, lavender, grilled meat, and crushed stones. It comes in just under medium-plus in body, with terrific freshness and some grainy tannins that give it lift and grip. I followed the progress of this wine over the course of an evening and it got better, richer, and rounder the longer it was open. It’s got the stuffing to be a nice medium-term (5-10 year) ager, but as I noted above, you don’t need to wait forever: Sock some away to begin revisiting in 2022 or thereabouts, but don’t hesitate to dip in now, too: Decant it 45 minutes before service in large Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees and give it something earthy and meaty to sink its teeth into. It is gutsy and classy at the same time—one of my favorite combinations. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Rhône Valley
Sub-Region
FranceSaint-Joseph
Soil
Granitic
Farming
Organic
Blend
Syrah 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
2/3 New French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
60 Minutes
Pairing
Lamb Loin Chops

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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