
2022
Region
France › Rhône › Northern Rhône › Saint-Joseph › Saint-Joseph AOC
Type
white · still
Grapes
Roussanne
Alcohol
14%
Volume
750 mL
Really interesting, albeit a touch strange. Very ripe apples open it, then apple-quince jam, then a salted edge that reads like Savagnin even though it isn't one. The palate is a bit sweet, lush at the front - and then the acidity steps in to hold the line, with the salinity keeping the whole thing honest. Complex on two opposing axes at once: friendly through the lush sweetness, serious through the saline backbone. Both running through the same wine, neither winning. Cool bottle - and I get why people split on it.
The estate's Saint-Joseph Blanc is bottled as 100% Roussanne - an exception in the appellation, where Marsanne is normally the dominant or sole grape. The fruit comes from granite slopes on the northern side of the AOC. Direct press, native ferment, neutral wood ageing, no fining or filtration, effectively no SO2 - the house template applied to a precise, taut white. 2022 was a warm Northern Rhône vintage; expect ripe orchard fruit pulled into shape by Roussanne's natural saline drive.