2017 St Joseph

Gripa's 2017 Saint Joseph is simply plush, fruity and delicious. How can one not be captivated by its swirls of cherries and blueberries, made savory by the addition of black olives and licorice? It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, with the concentration and length to age for close to a decade.

The larger production cuvée from this terrific estate is the 2017 Saint Joseph, which was brought up in a mix of 228- and 600-liter barrels. Exotic notes of blackberries, tobacco leaf, ground pepper, and sappy herbs give way to a medium to full-bodied 2017 that has obvious minerality, building tannins, and a great finish. While this cuvée is normally relatively approachable right out of the gate, the 2017 is going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age. It will keep for over a decade. This family-run estate covers 16 hectares spread between Saint-Péray and Saint Joseph. Looking at their Saint-Péray releases, of which there are two, the Les Pins can be thought of as the base release, with the Les Figuiers being the old vine cuvée. As to the Saint Josephs, there are two cuvées as well, both in red and white. The Le Berceau is the much smaller, old vine cuvée. All the wines here are noteworthy and worth your time and money. They also age beautifully.

Reductive, black cherry, lots of animal and farmyard on the palate, which detracts from the fruit. (RH)