2015 St Joseph Francis de Tournon
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Tasting notes
Dark ruby. High-pitched red and dark berry and violet aromas show excellent focus and pick up hints of cracked pepper and sandalwood with air. Sappy and seamless in texture, offering fresh black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and a hint of candied licorice. Turns sweeter on the penetrating, impressively long finish, which features smooth, even tannins and lingering boysenberry and floral qualities.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
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Both Saint Joseph releases are brilliant in 2015. The 2015 Saint Joseph François De Tournon comes vines around Tournon, Mauves, Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, and Vion, and is always destemmed and aged in 30% new barrels. This full-bodied, rounded, sexy beauty shows the power and fruit of the vintage. With classic notes of black and blue fruits, violets, incense and pepper, drink this textured, expansive, terrific Saint Joseph over the coming 10-15 years. Delas Frères is located just outside of Saint-Jean-de-Muzols and has plenty of prime parcels spread throughout the entire northern Rhône Valley. The 2015s are the finest wines I’ve tasted from this estate since the 2010s, and if anything, the wines appear to be slightly more balanced and polished, with less obvious oak. The 2016s are less showy, yet have very classic, balanced profiles, and this is unquestionably another good vintage for this estate, which appears to be firing on all cylinders.
Inky and concentrated, the 2015 Saint-Joseph Francois de Tournon is no easy-drinking Saint-Joseph. It's smoky, herbal and ashy all at once, yet it's buoyed by ample black cherry fruit and vibrant acidity. This medium to full-bodied Syrah has plenty of tannins, but they're ultimately silky and most apparent on the long, licorice-tinged finish. This is approachable now but should be even better in 3 years and should drink well for at least another 10 after that.
Glass-staining ruby. High-pitched, mineral-accented aromas of blackberry and cherry are complemented by a sexy floral nuance and a hint of licorice. Sappy, incisive and appealingly sweet, offering vibrant black and blue fruit flavors and a jolt of peppery spices. Finishes sweet and impressively long, displaying smoky mineral and spice notes and slow-mounting tannins.