2015 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Le Clos

Screaming "Granite!" at the top of its lungs, the 2015 Saint Joseph Le Clos comes from an east-facing parcel located high up on the west side of the Rhône River. Inky colored and packed with notions of blackberries, cassis, crushed rocks, graphite and violets, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, elegant and seamless. With an iron fist in a velvet glove-like character, this heavenly 2015 might just be the best wine ever to come from this appellation. There’s not much of it, but don’t miss a chance to try this wine! Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from the estate of Michel Chapoutier. Taking over the domaine from his father in the late 1980s (his first vintage was 1989), Michel quickly moved the estate completely to bio-dynamic farming as well as building a new, state of the art winery located just outside of Tain l’Hermitage. These are classic, traditionally made wines that are never acidified (or chaptalized), are brought up mostly in demi-muids (with plenty of used oak), and bottled unfined and unfiltered. He also continues to grow the brand (this is easily one of the largest tastings I do every year from a single producer) and has added two new Côte Rôties in 2015, the Quatrain and Neve cuvees. The Quatrain is reserved for grapes that didn’t make it into the selection parcellaire releases, and the Neve comes from a single parcel in the northern part of the appellation. Both are impressive wines, although I don’t envy anyone trying to explain the full portfolio to buyers in the market. In addition, while it’s easy to focus on the top cuvées from this estate, the portfolio is packed with incredible values at just about every price point. These reviews focus on the 2015 and 2016 vintages, with all the 2015s tasted out of bottle and the majority of the 2016s still resting in barrel. The 2015 vintage is a monumental one for this estate and matches (and in a few cases, eclipses) what was accomplished in 2009 and 2010. These are ripe, concentrated, structured wines that are going to demand cellar time. In contrast, the 2016s are more elegant and silky, with terrific purity of fruit. They don’t have the sheer grandeur of fruit found in the 2015s, yet are seriously concentrated and have no shortage of tannins and structure.

A reference point for the appellation, the 2015 Saint Joseph le Clos combines detailed nuances of crushed stone, red plum, roasted meat and black olive with massive concentration and powerful tannins. This full-bodied, richly textured wine should come into its own by 2025 and then drink well for a decade and a half, maybe longer.

Bright purple. Vibrant, mineral-tinged aromas of dark berries, candied licorice and pungent flowers take on a smoky nuance as the wine opens up. Sappy cassis and bitter cherry flavors are lifted and sharpened by a core of juicy acidity. Gains sweetness with air, picking up a brighter red fruit quality that carries through the impressively long, youthfully tannic finish.