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The wines > Saint-Joseph

• ALAIN PARET
  

  LVT 2006 wh 2005 r A gentle up curve in quality here, with son Anthony stoking some of the fires. Anthony`s own wine is the Seyssuel Serinae - made from the schist near Vienne. The Condrieu Les Ceps du Nébadon is reliable without hitting great inspiration, a tender wine. The Lys de Volan is more intricate, a big, punchy wine best drunk after 2 to 3 years. The Saint-Joseph reds are modern styled, with the Larmes du Père capable of local expression. Alain`s partner at Condrieu is Gérard Depardieu, the French cinema actor, and, more recently, Marcel Guigal, who has a share in the Volan vineyard. Alain`s son Anthony has just entered the domaine, and is proving a good force for the future.

• AURELIEN CHATAGNIER
  

  LVT 2007 r wh Plenty of promise shown in his very early days by this ex pupil of the Beaune Wine School who has worked with François Villard. Usual issue with many young growers of judging the oak imprint on the wine, which could be moderated.

• CAVE DE CHANTE-PERDRIX
  

  LVT 2007 wh 2006 r Clean Condrieu, at times even a little spartan. The St-Joseph La Madone is some way ahead of the regular red. Clear, dry-toned wines reflect the style of the northern St-Joseph sector.

• CAVE DE SAINT-DESIRAT
  

  LVT 2007 wh 2007 r One of the best Co-operatives in the Rhône Valley over many years. By 2006 was accounting for over 45% of all St-Joseph, following the bankruptcy of the other main St-Joseph Co-operative, the Cave de Sarras. The wines are made in a more modern style these days, and oak use is apparent on the more expensive reds, as well as the Condrieu. The Côte Diane red St-Joseph is more discreet and less forced than the Domaine Rochevine red St-Joseph. The white St-Josephs are agreeable, suited for early drinking.

• CAVE DE SARRAS, from 2006 part of CAVE DE ST-DESIRAT
  

  Business-driven Co-operative, with sales to leading name local négociants providing them with important trade. The bottled wines are very modern, very oaked, very extracted. Many of the casks have been burnt by St-Desirat, which now faces the heavy task of selling the enormous amount of very ordinary wine that was hanging around in the cellars when they went bust.

• DAVID RAYDON
  

  LVT 2006 r A quietly keen young grower. David set up on his own in 2000. His uncle has a 7-hectare vineyard in the southern Ardèche. Vineyard treatments are organic. There is supple fruit in the red, typical of the southern Saint-Joseph sector. There are some STGT leanings, and I like the lack of fuss in the wines. He also grows apricots and cherries.

• DIDIER MORION
  

  Unassuming winemaker; the wines show some progress but need more consistency.

• DOMAINE BAROU
  

  LVT 2008 wh 2008 r An organic vineyard since 1975, a long way back. The Saint-Joseph red is carefully made, with good fruit purity - natural, elegant wine. The Condrieu is tightly textured, stylish. A new red St Jo with new oak was introduced in 2007, and younger oak is being used here now.

• DOMAINE BERNARD and FABRICE GRIPA
  

  LVT 2007 r 2008 wh An extremely good domaine for very classy white wines that combine Marsanne and Roussanne. Their Saint-Péray holding rose in 2006 when their cousin Pierre Darona retired. The special whites - Le Berceau Saint-Joseph and Figuiers Saint-Péray - demand some ageing to integrate their oak. They are fine and well-structured. The red Saint-Josephs are full, if a little rigorous at the outset. The Berceau is spicy and chewy, a wine that can live for 15 years. This is a top domaine at Saint-Joseph and Saint-Péray, and the wines can be followed with confidence.

• DOMAINE BLACHON
  

  LVT 2006 r Roger Blachon died in 2007, and his widow and son Sylvain have gamely continued with these traditional wines. A new cuvée, the Hommage to Roger Blachon, was introduced with the 2006 vintage. When the wines are on song, they are true to their place, and nicely unpretentious.

• DOMAINE BOISSONNET
  

  LVT 2007 wh 2006 r A domaine capable of progress and greater consistency in the coming years.

• DOMAINE CHIROL
  

  Very traditional domaine. Wines could be fresher. The vin de pays white is a sweet Viognier, in the style of yesteryear.

• DOMAINE CHRISTOPHE CURTAT
  

  LVT 2007 r 2008 wh In his early forties, Christope Curtat has no vineyard-owning lineage. His father is a cereal, maize producer in the Isère département near Lyon airport. He has been a wine enthusiast and taster, and eventually worked at Yves Cuilleron and the Domaine du Tunnel, with stays in Killara Estate, Australia and in South Africa. He started with 1 hectare in 2005. It is good to see newcomers not knocking the daylights out of their crop to achieve some sort of muscle-bound black wine, and the presence of some amount of stems is also encouraging. Good, mainly Roussanne white, too. Keep an eye on this promising performer.

• DOMAINE COURBIS
  

  LVT 2008 r 2008 wh Improving wines from a domaine whose vineyards are in the unusual position of containing a lot of limestone, in the very southern part of Saint-Joseph. These are cleanly made wines, and some could possess more soul at times: the spotless, modern vinification techniques can make the wines feel hands-off. The Saint-Joseph classic red is for drinking inside 7 years; the Les Royes red is very consistent, full of rich matter and can live over 10 years or more. There are always good whites - the Saint-Joseph Les Royes blanc, notably, is rich and well-founded, and can handle its oak. The trio of Cornas wines comes in the modern, clear-fruit Cornas style: La Sabarotte is marked by oily, lissom black fruits. They gain more local feel if aged for several years.

• DOMAINE de BOISSEYT-CHOL
  

  LVT 2007 r 2007 wh Generally traditional wines with a local and regional following, often found in restaurants. The classic St-Joseph red is honest local wine, the Garipelées more upright and requires some ageing. Les Rivoires has some southern depth, and can do well for 10 years or more. The Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde is softened by its 15% Viognier.

• DOMAINE DE CHAMPAL-ROCHER, ERIC ROCHER
  

  LVT 2007 r Wine is sold in mix of bulk and bottle. Clear, sleek fruit in the Syrah wines, modern style. Eric Rocher`s family were wine merchants, and he also lives in Lyon. There is a 20-hectare estate at Tavel in the southern Rhone as well.

• DOMAINE DE FAUTERIE, SYLVAIN BERNARD
  

  LVT 2007 r wh A domaine that hovers between giving good, local wines and ones that have missed the boat. Certainly, the latter observation is in the ascendancy recently, I am sorry to write. The shame is that there is not enough consistency and sustained fullness in some of the wines from one vintage to the next. The St-Joseph classic red is a simple, early wine; the special, older vine Les Combaud is better and more interesting, but the oak can show. The Cornas can be very good value, with a traditional depth. The St-Péray has been gaining in depth as its vineyard (1984-87) matures - it has a 30% Roussanne presence.

• DOMAINE DE GACHON, PASCAL PERRIER
  

  Yes, traditional wines, not for the urban chic among you! Hearty, tarry flavours, some wild rides here. Patience is usually rewarded, since the wines can be discordant when young, and take time to meld. Good drinking with winter dishes, stews and casseroles.

• DOMAINE DE GOUYE
  

  LVT 2006 STGT domaine, very understated winemaking by a genuine enthusiast, but that comes with all the ups and downs of variable quality, hit and miss moments. The best are sound reds in the true, local style that reflects soft red fruits. Profound and genuine whites with - a forgotten word these days - character. Dried fruits, nutty touches - good Marsanne.

• DOMAINE DE LA CÔTE SAINTE-EPINE
  

  LVT 2007 r 2008 wh At last greater consistency is emerging here from one vintage to the next, as the winemaking is handled with a surer touch. The vineyard site is right in the heart of the proper Saint-Joseph appellation - the southern zone - and the vineyards` age and quality bode well. The approach is gentle, traditional. The labels for the reds bear the words Vieilles Vignes; the son Mikael`s label is different from his father Michel`s, although both are termed "M.Desestret".

• DOMAINE DE LA FAVIÈRE
  

  LVT 2007 r 2008 wh Pierre Boucher drinks no alcohol, a rare state of affairs for a vigneron. The younger generation are improving the fruit quality here, and things are on the up. Daughter Patricia shows promise and a more decisive outlook. Her partner Thomas Putnam is switched on, and they make very respectable vin de pays under the Boucher-Putnam name.

• DOMAINE DE PIERRE BLANCHE
  

  Négociants for four generations, the Mouriers moved into vineyard ownership in 1990, buying land and planting themselves. The top red St-Joseph, the Cep d'Or, shows decent quality. The white St-Joseph is sound, and the Condrieu expresses white fruits in a nicely understated way.

• DOMAINE DES AMPHORES
  

  LVT 2006 r Biodynamic practices since 2002. This young couple moved on to vinegrowing and winemaking in 1994,; they were a mixed farm before. Young vineyards here.

• DOMAINE DES MIQUETTES
  

  LVT 2006 r wh Paul Estève is a young man whose domaine is on the plain above the Rhône, his Saint-Joseph vineyard more southern sector than northern. He bought his vineyard in 2004, and is still a Co-operateur at the Cave de Tain, where he used to work. The vineyard is worked under organic methods. He is the first member of his family to work vineyards, and left school early to work in the cultivation of oranges and olives in Greece. The wines show definite promise.

• DOMAINE DES PIERRES SÈCHES
  

  LVT 2007 r Sylvain Gauthier is from Lorraine, where his father had a vineyard. Did studies in Burgundy. He has worked in the Ardèche, and set up on his own with two vineyards in 2007. The first wine is promising. Quantities are naturally very limited.

• DOMAINE DU CHATEAU VIEUX
  

  LVT 2007 r Very sound Saint-Joseph from mature vineyards. Excellent value Vin de pays Syrah - both are raised in used oak.

• DOMAINE DU CHÊNE, MARC and DOMINIQUE ROUVIERE
  

  LVT 2008 wh 2008 r This has become a leading domaine at St-Joseph, with the priceless asset of consistency in the quality. The wines are full and often marked by oak, but grow into a sustained, deep-rooted maturity. The Anaïs St-Joseph red has become more generous and less taut in recent years. The Condrieu can start out overtly oaked and heady - a wine for food rather than aperitif, but very consistent from year to year - a good, reliable source.

• DOMAINE DU MONTEILLET, STEPHANE MONTEZ
  

  LVT 2006 r wh A buzzy, modern outlook here,stimulated by Stéphane`s work and experiences in the New World. Lashings of new oak in the wines. Rich years can absorb the oak. Patience needed - the reds are not for immediate drinking. The Cuvée du Papy has genuine depth and the potential to live over 12-15 years. Wholesome white St-Joseph. Ripe crop style Condrieu, heady, exotic tones with oak apparent. Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places is usually a full wine that demands 4 or 5 years` cellaring.

• DOMAINE DU MORTIER
  

  The inclination at this domaine is towards STGT. Well-made, individual wines, with well-expressed fruitiness. Didier Crouzet has been here since 1996 after working in education in Lyon. He aims to work with low sulphur amounts during vinification. It is well worth trying these wines.

• DOMAINE DURAND
  

  LVT 2008 r An old mixed farming family who went into making their own wine commercially in the late 1980s. They still grow apricots. The brothers have plenty of drive, and are making fruit-filled wines that can be enjoyed from an early stage. There is consistent quality, with standards on the rise, and this is definitely a name to watch. Cellar techniques are modern and active. The Cornas is approachable and can be drunk from 3-4 years old.

• DOMAINE FARJON
  

  LVT 2006 wh 2004 r Wines here are made in the modern vein - there is often a grilled effect on bouquets, and black fruit off the Wine Superhighway. The white Saint-Josephs show some promise, with 2006 the most successful recent vintage

• DOMAINE FLORENTIN
  

  LVT 2006 r Since the harvest of 2009, owned by the J-L Chave family of Mauves, just down the road from this idiosyncratic domaine which has always ignored the latest whims and fashions - hats off for that independence of spirit. The ageing is traditional - no fresh, zappy fruit here; mature, smoky red berry flavours in the reds. The whites are STGT - lovely food wines, plenty of character and a rustic vigour. The Florentins have always stabled a horse to work the vineyard, even in the dark, chemical days of the 1970s.

• DOMAINE GONON, JEAN and PIERRE
  

  LVT 2008 r wh An STGT domaine par excellence, and fantastic value and consistency - these red Saint-Josephs are top notch Syrahs. The Gonon brothers, true countrymen and taught by their father, make delightful, delicious wines of genuine pedigree. There is a sensible transfer of fruit from mature vineyards to the cellar, where methods are calm and watchful. No new oak in sight. The white is a high-class example of Marsanne, laced with a little Roussanne from a top, south-facing vineyard, Les Oliviers. Both red and white can evolve well over 20 years in the good vintages.

• DOMAINE GRANGIER
  

  LVT 2007 r wh Céline took over the domaine in 2003, their first wine in bottle having been in 2002. This is an old apple, cherry and pear with vines domaine. Saint-Jospeh and Condrieu, the latter from very young Viognier.

• DOMAINE GUY FARGE
  

  LVT 2008 r 2008 wh Guy Farge, in his early fifties in 2008, used to sell his crop to the Cave de Tain. He made his first wine in 2007. Part of the crop is now sold to Delas, and he vinifies the other part. The approach is traditional, the wines aided by being in prime sites at St-Jean-de-Muzols.

• DOMAINE JEAN-CLAUDE MARSANNE
  

  LVT 2007 r wh An STGT domaine, but the wines can be rustic as well, with dry late tannins in some vintages. The outlook is traditional, with old-fashioned virtues. There is no crazy behaviour in the cellar, the wines are allowed to come along quietly. The brothers continued to propagate their own cuttings by hand from old vines in the 1970s, 1980s when all around them thought they were mad to do so. Many sales to private clients and the restaurant trade. Half the production is sold in bottle, about 15,000 bottles. The whites are a nice, low-key and authentic surprise.

• DOMAINE JÉROME and PIERRE COURSODON
  

  LVT 2008 r 2008 wh A long-established family domaine in the prime southern Saint-Joseph village of Mauves. An important address. The vneyards are spread across good sites. The red wines move along a scale from the simple, young vine straight Saint-Joseph through older Syrah and on to an overt new oak, older vine cuvee called Sensonne. The Paradis St-Pierre is a personal favourite, since it mixes well fruit, tannin and vintage style. The whites are sound, with the Paradis blanc capable of evolving well over 12+ years in the vintages with good acidity levels.

• DOMAINE LAURENT BETTON
  

  Young vineyards. Can be good when the vintage is good.

• DOMAINE MONIER-PERREOL
  

  LVT 2009 r wh STGT domaine. Biodynamic approach, applied with careful dedication. Jean-Pierre Monier used to belong to the Cave Co-operative of St-Désirat until 2001. The reds possess clear fruit and are understated. The Terre Blanche is intended to be the longest-lived, the Les Serves shows soft fruit and can be drunk early. All wines benefit from decanting. There is now a co-operation with another biodynamic grower, Philippe Perréol. Expensive, but pure wines here.

• DOMAINE RICHARD
  

  LVT 2008 r 2009 wh A domaine whose early 2000s progress seems to have rather stalled. The best red is the Nuelles Vieilles Vignes St Jo. The wines are genuine and reflect a traditional approach. The Condrieu L`Amaraze is acceoatble, often **(*), and its oaking has been cut back. The first vintage of the old vines Condrieu, M de Martial, was very good - the classic 2004.

• DOMAINE ROMANEAUX-DESTEZET
  

  LVT 2008 wh r An organic domaine, with a prime old Syrah vineyard at Saint-Joseph, which is sold as Saint-Epine, not appellation Saint-Joseph. There is low sulphur use during vinification, and the wines benefit from decanting before drinking. The Vin de pays collection is interesting, the Gamay Souteronne suited to aperitif. The serious white Vin de Pays exceeds its category, and is best drunk with food.

• DOMAINE VALLET
  

  LVT 2008 r wh Good, steady progress at this domaine, with a switched-on son, Anthony, an enthusiastic recent contributor. Father Louis was at the Cave Co-operative of Péage-de-Roussillon. The red St-Joseph Muletiers can do well in future providing it is not made in the modern fashion of late picked fruit, stern extraction and bountiful oak - this guns blazing approach found out the 2004, for instance, when the grape ripeness wasn`t up to such handling. The white St-Joseph is a sound wine, and the Condrieu is making progress, if the 2007 is a true guide.

• ELIZABETH FOGIER
  

  A veteran grower who has let out her other 1.6 hectares on the prime St-Jean hillside of La Roue.The wines are traditional and natural, gentle and soft. Elizabeth was one of the only women running her own domaine back in the 1970s.

• ETIENNE BECHERAS
  

  LVT 2007 r wh An STGT domaine. These are true, countryman`s wines, with genuine local feel.

• FAMILLE DARNAUD-McKERRON
  

  LVT 2007 wh Claire Darnaud helps on the white wines at Delas during harvest time - her father was from Tournon. Shane McKerron is Australian, and has worked at Domaine Jean-Louis Chave. They are cultivating some of the old Raymond Trollat vines, including his venerable 1918 Chasselas, at St Jean-de-Muzols.

• GERARD COURBIS
  

  Traditional, honest and agreeable wines, with much of the production sold to local merchants.

• GILLES FLACHER
  

  LVT 2007 wh Sound address for whites, although the oak factor has been high recently. The St-Joseph white is the best offering here, with Charnas a good village for them. The Condrieu is very oak-marked, a problem given the fruit is from young vines. The 2004 Condrieu also showed signs of "vigneron catch-up" - the effort to compensate for young vines - with an overripe crop effect. The St-Joseph Prestige red should be left at least three years to allow a chance to absorb the oak, and can show for up to 10 years.

• LA FERME DES SEPT LUNES
  

  LVT 2008 r wh Biodynamic since 1997, in theory an STGT domaine. Jean Delobre is moving towards biodynamic winemaking. I have found the wines irregular in the late 2000s. From 2005, he has made just one red wine.

• LAURENT CHOMAT
  

  A fruit grower only, with no wine, until 2001. Half the vineyard was planted by his grandfather in the 1970s. Countryman instincts.

• LAURENT MARTHOURET
  

  LVT 2008 wh Whites have character and decent richness. Another example of the Charnas zone being good for white St-Joseph and vin de pays. The reds are more strained, their fruit not especially relaxed. Could make progress if more consistency - the potential is for interesting wines, all the more if the winemaking and the oak application calm down. Potent Condrieu.

• LE DOMAINE D`EMILE
  

  LVT 2006 r Apples, apricots, peaches, pears, strawberries, cherries are sold just off the N86 – a good selection from their 20 hectares. The cousins started wine again in 1999-2000. Their grandfather Emile had made wine. The style is authentically traditional.

• LOUIS CHÈZE
  

  LVT 2008 r 2009 wh Modern style St-Joseph reds from the northern sector, marked by oak and grilled aspects. The black fruits show best early on, but can dry after the bottle has been open for an hour or so. St-Joseph Cuvée des Anges red should be drunk after 4-5 years to allow integration beyond the oak. Condrieu Pagus Luminis is more elegant than Brèze, the latter a full-on Condrieu in the modern vein of oak and very ripe crop. Also active in the re-activated schist vineyard of Seyssuel, north of Vienne, good Syrahs from there. The vins de pays are sound.

• PASCAL JAMET
  

  LVT 2007 r 2008 wh I sense an easing of the extraction here - good. A modern techniques domaine, but they have backed off recently, resulting in softer, finer whites than before. Pascal and Catherine are supporters of the Roussanne. Oak use is less evident since the late 2000s.

• PASCAL MARTHOURET
  

  LVT 2008 r 2009 wh First wine, the red, in 2002. Faced three tricky vintages straight away. Good whites, done with a fine touch. Promising wines, definite future here, both w.o.w. and some STGT

• PATRICIA BOUCHER and THOMAS PUTMAN
  

  Both studied at Beaune Wine School, Thomas has worked chez André Perret Started in 2004, and show promise. The Vin de pays Syrah is good value for money.

• PIERRE FINON
  

  LVT 2008 r 2009 wh A winegrower on the plateau in a hamlet near Charnas, the first in four generations to make wine commercially from the family vineyards. Pierre Finon has a good touch with the white wines; the Les Rocailles St-Joseph red has enough core to evolve well. Solid and understated quality.

• PIERRE GAILLARD
  

  LVT 2008 r 2007 wh These are sound, cleanly made wines from a progressive domaine in the northern sector of St-Joseph. Elegance comes through and they can be followed by lovers of stylish fruit with an oak topping. Pierre Gaillard worked for several years in the Guigal Côte-Rôtie vineyards. The emphasis has been on oak - young or new oak is used to raise all the wines. Gaillard`s handling of oak is better than many, and his wines can integrate well. Cellar methods are modern. He has a good touch with his whites. The Condrieu is full and oily, with reliable quality. The sweet wines, including the accomplished Vin de Paille Jeanne Elise are very good, a cut above many of these, showing better integration of the ripe fruit and the sugar than most.

• RAYMOND TROLLAT
  

  Incomparable Rhône veteran, has always eschewed fashion and followed his own family's local, traditional thinking. Very old vineyard, the wines are unpretentious and softly textured. Raymond is winding down now, and makes a little wine for his own consumption. Most of the vineyard is rented out, to Desestret and Gonon. I always liked the white, full of true local authenticity.

• SCEA LA TACHE
  

  LVT 2007 r Young team that cultivate vineyards for houses such as Paul Jaboulet, and started to make wine in 2005. Whole bunch, low sulphur fermentations, and a definitely promising start.