2017 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc
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Tasting notes
Scents of crushed stone and scorched earth mark the nose of the 2017 Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc, a pure, barrel-fermented Marsanne offering from the decomposed granite slopes of the Saint-Joseph lieu-dit. Grilled tangerines, hints of bergamot and honey appear on the palate, although the rich, medium to full-bodied wine is clearly dry, with a lingering, citrusy finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
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Pale yellow. Intense, mineral-dominated nectarine, pear nectar, chamomile and fennel qualities on the nose, along with a sexy floral topnote that expands with aeration. Seamless, concentrated and lively on the palate, offering powerful white peach, tangerine, Anjou pear and honeysuckle flavors. Focus and mineral lift are carried through an impressively persistent finish that features suggestions of Meyer lemon and sweet butter.
The 2017 Saint Joseph Les Granits Blanc is beautiful and continues to be one of my favorite white wines coming from this appellation (if not the entire Rhône valley). This light gold-colored effort offers up a classic, mineral-laced bouquet of crushed citrus, white flowers, toasted almonds, and spice. Rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated and incredibly elegant, it's a thrilling white wine that can be drunk today or cellared for over a decade. This cuvée is 100% Marsanne aged in 15% new demi-muids. The estate of firebrand Michel Chapoutier continues to operate on all cylinders, and these latest 2016 and 2017 releases are world class for this address. The 2017 whites show the gradual change toward a more reductive style of winemaking, and the wines at times have an almost Burgundian feel in their minerality, acidity, and texture. Nevertheless, they’re fabulously concentrated and rich and will need 2-4 years of cellaring. The 2016 whites showed beautifully, and I prefer those to the 2017s. The majority of the 2017 reds were tasted as barrel samples. This is a ripe, sexy, expressive vintage for the Northern Rhône, and this shows in the wines. The 2017s don’t appear to have the density of the more blockbuster styled 2015s, yet they have expressive, sunny characters that will deliver loads of charm. The 2016s having slightly more density and cooler-climate styled aromatics, yet are nevertheless some of the richest, sexiest wines in the vintage. In addition to the frightfully expensive top-tier cuvées, don’t miss the value releases from this estate. These wines max out the QPR scale and are great introductions into the wines of Chapoutier as well as the Rhône Valley.