2010 St Joseph Lieu Dit St Joseph

Deep ruby. Complex bouquet evokes fresh black and blue fruits, smoky minerals and licorice, along with a suave floral overtone. Juicy and precise, offering gently sweet blackberry and mulberry flavors lifted by tangy acidity. Fine-grained tannins come on late and add shape to the long, sappy finish.

There are only 119 cases of the 2010 St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph. From hillside vineyards situated between Mauves and Tournon (about 8-10 kilometers north of Mauves), this wine exhibits notes of pen ink, graphite, black raspberries and crushed rocks in a medium-bodied, nicely concentrated style. It can be drunk now or cellared for another decade. ||The quality of Ferraton’s wines has been increasing with nearly every new vintage thanks to the efforts of Michel Chapoutier and his number one assistant, P.H. Morel, who has the responsibilities for these wines. I have included a few Southern Rhones that were not reviewed in Issue #203. Some of the 2011 white wines are in bottle, but the more serious cuvees are still in barrel. Ferraton produced four lieu-dit offerings in 2011, which I tasted with Michel Chapoutier and Pierre-Henri Morel. Wine Advocate.December, 2012