One thing that I have learned since I've been traveling to the Northern Rhone is that in St.Joseph there are many great terroirs and the differences between them are as vast as the difference between a Gevrey-Chambertin and a Chambolle-Musigny. For example everyone says Gonon is the best St. Joseph. It is one of the tops for sure and it is surely the top in St. Epine, where the vines are located. I also happen to believe that Fabrice Gripa is also making the best St Joseph, albeit in a different style and from different terroir located in Mauves.
The quality is second to none. Gonon, seems to me, more red fruited, more feminine and will age a bit less than Gripa. Gripa, on the other hand is more black fruited, more masculine, sauvage and dark. It is Gevrey to Gonon's Chambolle and just as beautiful and unique as Gonon. I adore the wines of Fabrice Gripa and he is making some of the best wines in the Northern Rhone. He also hit a grand slam home run in 2015 and made epic epic wines. He gets almost zero recognition in the USA. If Gonon is Roumier, Gripa is Rousseau.
First up is the 2015 Bernard Gripa St. Joseph for as little as $34.99 a bottle on a 4-pack which is a terrific value. The wine is the best regular St. Joseph since he epic 2010 but Fabrice thinks it is better. Great nose. Meaty, peppery, dark almost black fruits. So clean. Really brilliant and ebullient aromas. Super gravelly as well. Palate is firm and structured as young Gripa should be but stuffed with intense black fruits, freshness and structure. Such depth. It tastes like Berceau in a regular vintage. This has stunning flavor hierarchy and delineation all with mind boggling freshness. Beautiful noble tannins and structured like an old school Bordeaux but but still has that Syrah sex appeal. Really one of the top wines in the appellation. As impressive a "regular" St. Joseph as I've had in 2015 and is built to age. The wine is from Syrah vines averaging 30 years of age and has been 100% destemmed since the 2006 vintage. The best I've ever tasted. And at $34.99 just a dumb value. Buy this as if it were Gonon.
Up next is the big boy and arguably one of one of the top wines of the appellation and all of the North. The 2015 Bernard Gripa Joseph "Le Berceau" for as little as $59.99 on a 3-pack. This wine is rarely if ever available in America. It's like Fabrice Gripa's version of Gonon's VV qualitatively. It is just a brilliant "Hammer of God" type wine. It is from a specific site in St. Joseph where the core of the vines are 96+ years old and the average age is 60+ years old. It's a dark color. Almost black. In 2015 you've never seen a Berceau this color. Unreal. Stunning, deep and almost 4-D nose of crushed granite, fresh underbrush, black fruits, minerals galore, leather and so much more. Damp earth, licorice, violet, bacon fat. So much aroma. Wafting. Symphonic. Nuanced and complex as great Mauves St. Joseph can be. The palate is incredulously deep with big black fruits, significantly ripe and sweet tannin and a long, juicy and explosive finish. This blows you away with one sip. Leaves you speechless. Then there is the insane freshness. It's an OMG wine. There is absolutely just remarkable freshness for a wine that is so old viney, dense and big. All that with too notch finesse and elegance. This is built to age. I'd start in on this in 5 years. It is ungodly good.
Le Berceau is 30-40% whole cluster fermentation and 60-70% destemmed. It's aged in 1-6 year old 228 L oak casks for 11 months and which 20% are new. It doesn't matter what vintage of this wine one opens there is a level of quality that is just assumed and Gripa never lets me down. Just incredible. This is obviously young but has all the parts to be one of the best wines of the vintage as the finish lingers for a long time which hints at a very long life ahead of it.
2015 Bernard & Fabrice Gripa St. Joseph - $36.99 ($139.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)
2015 Bernard & Fabrice Gripa St. Joseph "Le Berceau" - $62.99
($179.97 3-pack) (VERY LIMITED)
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