2012 St Joseph Blanc, Le Paradis St Pierre, Domaine Coursodon
Critics reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - 30/12/2014
About this WINE
Marsanne
Marsanne is the predominant white grape variety grown in the Northern Rhône where it is used to produce white St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, and Hermitage. It is a tricky grape to cultivate, being susceptible to diseases and being particularly sensitive to extreme climatic changes - if growing conditions are too cool, then it fails to ripen fully and produces thin, insipid wines, while, if too hot, the resultant wines are blowsy, overblown and out of balance.
In the Northern Rhône it tends to be blended with around 15% Rousanne and produces richly aromatic, nutty wines which age marvellously - the best examples are from Hermitage and particularly from Chapoutier. Increasingly it is being grown in the Southern Rhône and Languedoc Roussillon where it is bottled as a single varietal or blended with Roussanne, Viognier, and sometimes Chardonnay. It is also grown very successfully in Victoria in Australia where some of the world`s oldest Marsanne vines are to be found.
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Description
There is 10% Roussanne to add aromatic complexity this year, with top notes of poached pear and white pepper adding spice to the Marsanne, itself an hymn of beeswax and honeysuckle. The 10% of new barrique has been finely judged here.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Phlegmatic and industrious , Jérôme has worked his way to the top of the appellation, quite literally when he is working his precipitous Paradis St Pierre vineyard, magisterial and dressed in granite, high above the village of Mauves. In 2012 he was wary of rot during the humid spring, and then anxious about the ‘canicule’ in August. Ultimately he was happy and rates the vintage very highly, as do we.
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