About this WINE
Domaine Yves Gangloff
Yves Gangloff is a hugely talented winemaker and is, with no exaggeration, a Rhône legend with rockstar credentials. Visiting his domaine is a completely different (and rather fantastic) experience when compared to most other estates. Great music plays, creating a lively but laid-back vibe, whilst Yves pours and chats. Energy and life fill the room, reflecting the vibrancy of his wines. These are consistently among the very best of the Northern Rhône. His popularity is legendary in France, which means that not very much of the already-diminutive production is available for the export market. Berry Bros. & Rudd are fortunate enough to have had a long-standing relationship with the great man – we are delighted to offer these wines, despite the tiny volumes.
As usual, Yves releases the wines later than most. We are therefore delighted to offer his delicious 2021 Condrieu as well as his two 2020 red cuvées: La Barbarine and La Sereine Noire. Make the most of La Sereine Noire this year, as 35% frost damage in Yves’ Côte-Rôtie yields meant that this cuvée was not made at all in 2021.
Saint-Joseph
Saint-Joseph is the second-largest appellation in the Northern Rhône with 50 growers producing wines from over 600 hectares of vineyards. Established in 1956, over 90 percent of the wine is red – made exclusively from the Syrah grape. The white wines, meanwhile, are typically a blend of Marsanne and Roussanne varieties. Its vineyards run due south on the west side below Condrieu, and are in six communes: Mauves, Tournon, St Jean-de-Muzols, Lemps, Vion and Glun.
The styles of wine in St Joseph tend to be much lighter than other red Appellations d'Origine Contrôlee and the quality can vary dramatically. The soils and climate differ, as it is a long, narrow AOC. There is no particular characteristic of the commune as some wines are produced near Côte-Rôtie, whilst others are near to Cornas.
The best St Josephs are still produced in the original heartland of the appellation between St Jean-de-Muzols and Mauves, where soils are predominately granitic with patches of limestone and schist. Typically, even the finest St Josephs are slightly lighter and faster-maturing than the wines of Hermitage, as Saint-Joseph's east-facing vineyards lose the sun up to two hours earlier in the crucial ripening season.
Recommended producers: Pierre Gaillard, Domaine Coursodon and Paul Jaboulet.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
Yves’ St Joseph is made in startlingly small volumes and indicative of the rising reputation of the appellation. From terraced vines just to the south of Condrieu, this Syrah is fragrant with elegantly-layered texture, and reveals copious aromas of blueberries, blackberries and spring flowers intermixed with hints of lavender and truffles.
Yves Gangloff who, despite the slightly rock-and-roll look, maybe a little too well-established to be described as an ‘enfant terrible’, continues to astonish even his fellow winemakers with the concentration and quality of his wines. His popularity is legendary in France, which means that not very much of the already diminutive production is available for the export market. Berry Bros. & Rudd has had a long-standing relationship with the great man, so we are fortunate in this respect.
Simon Field MW, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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