2012 St Joseph Blanc
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Tasting notes
Bright violet color. Explosive aromas of black and blue fruits, smoky Indian spices and minerals, with a suave floral quality in the background. Fleshy and expansive on the palate, but with excellent clarity and spicy lift to its blackberry and licorice flavors. The dark fruit element recurs on the long, seamless finish, which is framed by supple tannins that fold smoothly into the wine's lush fruit. (JR)
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Saint Joseph, which was just bottled, showed beautifully, and I continue to see more and more terrific, world-class wines from this appellation. Exhibiting terrific blackberry, ground pepper, crushed rock and underbrush, it’s medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and has an open, sexy style that’s already hard to resist. Drink it over the coming decade.
I was first presented with a wine from the granite and gravel Clos Florentin south of Mauves bought in 2009 which Jean-Louis still wasn't certain would be bottled separately ('I need to be very, very sure it is good enough', says JLC). Deep crimson with great life and zest. Still quite chewy and lots of distinction. I then tasted the wine from Dardouille north of Mauves on granite and clay which was extremely powerful with lots of straightforward fruit. It almost tasted rudely healthy! The final sample was from Bachasson with its decomposed granite on iron which managed to be both leathery and reminiscent of rose petals. He is clearly putting an enormous amount of effort into his St-Joseph. (JR)
The 2012 Saint Joseph, which was just bottled, showed beautifully, and I continue to see more and more terrific, world-class wines from this appellation. Exhibiting terrific blackberry, ground pepper, crushed rock and underbrush, it’s medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and has an open, sexy style that’s already hard to resist. Drink it over the coming decade. Dec 2014, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
The Chaves have been growing grapes in the Northern Rhône since 1481. Jean-Louis Chave is the 16th generation to head up the family domaine, having taken over from his father in 1992.