- Only 600 Bottles Made
- Pre-Tariff, Pre Gonon Made St. Jo. Famous Pricing ($35.99)
- Almost at the Level of Her Hermitage
- In 2019, At the Level of Gonon - Open It Blind Next To Gonon
- Stunning Super Expressive Nose
- Mashed Dark Flowers, Leather, Earth, Granite,
- Deep Cassis, Blackberry, Olive, Dark Berry Fruit
- 11/10 Aromatics
- Palate: Precise and Textured
- Awesome Granite Minerality
- Blackberry and Cassis Fruit
- Would Be $50+ Through 3 Tier
- Velvety
- A 15-18 Year Wine
- 2017 Was 92+ WA, Not Rated Since
- Stupendous Vintage - Maybe Better than 2015
"Like 2018, 2019 was a hot and dry year, but the wines look extremely promising and show an uncanny blend of depth and vivacity." - Josh Raynolds, Vinous
Kawhi Leonard, and Hard Work Sneaking Up on You
I've been avoiding sports analogies for a while. They just seem not the right thing to sell wine. But today, Kawhi Leonard just works.
Kawhi was only drafted 15th in the NBA draft. He had amazing physical skills (length, strength, quickness). But he didn't have much of an offensive game out of college. So what did he do? Hard work.
He worked hard every day for years. And he got better. Not better in any quick flash. He got gradually better over years. Leonard won a championship in 2014 with the Spurs and was named the MVP of the finals. He had the reputation of being one of the best two way players in the game and, after some injuries, was traded to the Raptors where he won his second championship (and Finals MVP award). He hit that crazy shot to kill the 76ers in the conference finals. He's now known as one of the best players in the game. He's mostly a quiet, unassuming guy.
He worked hard every day for years. And he got better. Not better in any quick flash. He got gradually better over years. Leonard won a championship in 2014 with the Spurs and was named the MVP of the finals. He had the reputation of being one of the best two way players in the game and, after some injuries, was traded to the Raptors where he won his second championship (and Finals MVP award). He hit that crazy shot to kill the 76ers in the conference finals. He's now known as one of the best players in the game. He's mostly a quiet, unassuming guy.
The wines of Michele Luyton have also snuck up on me. I first started selling them because they were very well made and ridiculous values (Hermitage under $50). The domaine had been selling grapes and Michele had recently started to make her own wine. The wines have been getting better every year bit by bit since I started with Michele. There really has been no leap (my phrase for a dramatic one year leap in quality). It's been steady, (almost a straight line). And maybe that's why these wines have snuck up on me. But it doesn't really matter - they have now arrived. Today's wine has among the most finesse of any wine in the Northern Rhone. I would put them up there with best of breed. You will all pounce on the St. Joseph.
Brief Interlude: The St. Joseph Hierarchy
If you put Michelle's St. Joseph in a line up of Gonon, Fauterie, Darnaud, Pierres Seches, St. Epine and Gripa, she could easily come in 1st or 2nd blind if there was no label bias.
If you look at styles in St. Joseph, I would broadly place the top producers in 3 groups.
- First, you have Gonon, Luyton and Fauterie which I would say are among the most elegant stylistically. There is that density, of course, but the great things about these wines is that the fruit is held in check enough so that the floral, spicy secondary characteristics are in line.
- Second is Gripa and Chave, which I would say, has a more density forward, darker style. The wines are remarkable for their balance given that density. That's the Mauves style for you!
- Finally, Pierres Seches and St. Epine, I would say they are in the middle - a more even balance between fruit density and secondary characteristics.
With the 2019 St. Joseph, Luyon is at Gonon level and the wines are stunningly inexpensive for how great they are.
The Wine
The 2019 Michelle Luyton St. Joseph can be had for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. She only made 600 bottles! That is barely anything. This is a stunning St. Joseph and is vastly underpriced compared to where St. Joseph is going price wise. What an epic St. Joseph. This is almost at the level of her Hermitage these days.
Just a stunning super expressive nose of mashed dark flowers, leather, earth, granite, deep cassis, blackberry, olive and just so nuanced and expressive. Deep, deep fruit. Violets. After air, there is mint, leaves, dark berry fruit, minerals, flowers, lavender, campfire and slabs of granite. It's super aromatic.
Palate is superb. Precise and textured with just awesome granite minerality and oodles of blackberry and cassis fruit but becomes cleansed with the granitic snapback on the finish. Stunningly pure and so, so elegant. Balanced like you would not believe. Complex and concentrated. Ripe and juicy with major structure and definition. Tannins are high quality and just so velvety and perfectly sweet and also mineral. Hermitage-like tannins.
The finish is so, so long and just stunning. It gets to every nook and cranny of the palate. This is exceptional. There is serious fruit density and amazing concentration and velvety melty tannins. So juicy and oh so delicious. Already showing terrific complexity. This should be $50+I would think via 3-tier. It's got amazing structure and the juiciest and ripest very high quality tannins. And my god they are sweet. This is a 15-18 year wine and a terrific value.
2019 Michele Luyton St. Joseph - $37.99 ($143.96 -pack)
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