Domaine Les Alexandrins "Intuition" - A favorite of mine and Fass Selections clients. This is 100% Gamay grown right in the middle of St. Joseph. What a dynamic wine. It is full of darker Gamay fruit and wonderful St. Joseph granite infused minerality. Sappy and full, this wine after 3-4 years in bottle is a dead ringer for St. Joseph even though it is made from Gamay and not Syrah.
Patrick Jasmin "Le Chevaliere" - A terrific value in normal vintages like 12 and 13 and an outrageous value in a vintage like 2015. Like a baby Cote Rotie as it sourced from vineyards near there. It is 100% Syrah from vineyards just a wee bit south of Cote Rotie. It is the same terroir, soil and exposition as Cote Rotie. I know baby Cote-Rotie gets thrown around a lot but this truly is one. It can be drunk now with pleasure, but will age well for 2-7 years. The nose has uncommon depth. Lavender, floral aromas, cured meat, some blood, some flowers, dark black fruits, olive and the the rest of the Cote Rotie symphony. It is dazzlingly pure in its aromas which is the final takeaway from the nose. And oh my god what texture. It is downright Burgundian the way it glides across your palate with a magnificent precision.
Maryline & Christophe Billon “La Corendies” - Beautiful, juicy Syrah from the granitic soils of Vienne. Stunning floral fruit that verges towards blackberry with sweet barely there tannins. Also some smokey Bbq flavor add complexity. So juicy and refreshing with wonderful knock it back acidity. If believable this is Cote-Rotie Glou Glou. It is 100% destemmed and aged in 3-4 year old 228 L oak casks for 18-21 months and then bottled.
Domaine Les Alexandrins “Eclipse” - Tannat? What? Yes, Tannat! They have only made one vintage that I tried but it was AS interesting if not MORE interesting and tasty than their SW French brethren. Deep, dark rich, polished, a bit wild and also refined this is almost too delicious to be real. It has some ripe and perfectly executed tannins as well. So juicy. Tannat can be rustic and its tannins especially so, but not in this wine. I bet the 15 is bonkers. I have only tasted 14.
Andre Perret Marsanne “Franc de Pied” - From an .25 hectare parcel of ungrafted Marsanne from 1970. The wine is terrific and has a lovely creamy pre-phylloxera texture along with dusty white pepper, lime, lemon and citrus. At once creamy and at once fresh this is one of the great white wine values of the Rhone.
Gonon “Les Îles Feray” - What more needs to be said. An outrageous value from one of the hottest estates in the Rhone. It is young vines that don’t go into the regular St. Joseph that are 8-10 years old. Broad, juicy, structured and deep with that Gonon soul and little bit extra that makes Gonon so special.
Gonon Chasselas - Always a fun wine with that happy sun on the label. 99% Chasselas and 1% Marsanne from decomposed granitic soils. As Pierre Gonon says “It is like drinking perfumed water – mountain water from rocks.” It is peachy, mineral and very juicy. Joy in a bottle.
Ogier “La Rosine” Viognier - Ogier makes this wine in a restrained style which allows Viognier's delicate aromatics to shine though. The wine is super floral with gorgeous anise notes and a hint of smoke with decidedly lower alcohol than normal for Viognier (12.5%) and wonderful citrus, anise and loads of green apple flavors. Sounds like a Mosel tasting note, eh? It finishes with incredible persistence and freshness and also accents of honeysuckle and floral notes. This also has fantastic structure and 2-3 years will do wonders for this wine.
Gripa “Cerise” - The big secret at Gripa as this is 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Syrah is sourced from Goules next to the Rhone and the Cabernet Sauvignon from slopes near St. Peray. Super gulpable with intriguing tarry, leathery depth and deep cassis fruit due to the Cabernet. But a nice meaty, gamey character as well due to the Syrah.
Domaine des Pierres Seches Syrah - From craggy and steep vineyards near St. Joseph with poor soil. 100% stainless steel vinification and this wine is a miracle. Juicy, dense, earthy and structured and deep. One of the best values on this list.
This is a top 10 list that a client recommended and it was a good idea so why not delve into it? IGP is a classification in the Rhone and extended areas that lets winemakers make wines that essentially let them break the strict AOC laws and experiment. These wines can be eye openers and exceptional values. They tend to not be that expensive and are in some cases Syrah grown right near a top appellation like Cote Rotie or St. Joseph. I live for wines like these as they let winemakers experiment and the consumer is the winner as they get a great value wine that will be sometimes very outside the box and interesting in a geeky way. These are in no particular order. This is a list of red and white.
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