A New Cuvee Cements a New Top 5-10 Producer in St. Joseph

 An Old School Fass Selections Producer
- With Revirand - Top 10 in St. Joseph

2019 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph Rouge
- Dark Flowers, Almost Black Fruits 

- Massive, Stunning, Elegant Olives
- One Is Taken Back by the Beautiful Aromatic Spectrum
- Explosive, Precise Tiny Black Berry Fruits
- In Between the Dark Sweet Fruit of Gripa 
- And the Old School Classicism of Gonon 
- With the Alluring Texture of Allemand On A Smaller Scale
- Incredible Combo Of Density And Freshness
- 3-4 Year Old Barrels
- Competes with $50-$60 St Joseph. Only $29.99

2019 Domaine des Pierres Seches St. Joseph Rouge “Revirand”
- A Brand New Wine
- I Gave This a 9.6 on Delectable
- Compare Gonon (9.5-9.7), Fauterie (9.6), Gripa (9.6)
- Nose: So Distinctive
- Smells Like An Insane Cote Rotie that Costs $75

- Incense, Spices, Lavender, So Floral and Pretty
- Whole Cluster Fermentation
- Orange Rind and Orange Zest 
- Flower Shop
- Granite

- True Perfume
- So Distinctive - It Shocked Me
- Elite Spice and Cloves
- Palate: So Refined and Juicy
- So Intense
- Blackberry and Black Fruits
- Terrific Fruit and Purity
- Well Balanced
- Sultry, Complex and Super Concentrated 
- Supple and Pure

- Unreal Texture and Sweet Fruit

An Important Brief Note on St. Joseph

Before I I start, I'd like to give a brief summary of St. Joseph. First, it is very large and there are a ton of
mediocre wines. There are two very important areas:

 - Mauves - Chave and Gripa are here. The wines are more dark, brooding, mineral and need much more time to open up but age wonderfully. Think Chambertin. For Whites, think Montrachet.

 - St. Epine - Gonon, Trollat and Sylvain Gauthier are here. This style is more red fruited and finesse-driven with a striking granitic mineral expression. Like Chambolle or Volnay but of course with the requisite syrah olives and game and even some black fruits in vintages like '15 and '18. For whites think Chevalier-Montrachet.

Sylvain Gauthier

I've been working with Sylvain Gauthier since the beginning of Fass Selections. From 2014 on, he is can't miss. His 2019s are not just better than his outstanding 18s but dramatically better. It’s his best vintage. He nailed the reds in this vintage. Sylvain's wines have improved so much we started working with him and I can honestly say that they are knocking at the door of the big boys (Gonon/Chave/Gripa) quality-wise at 1/2 to 2/3 the price. Many of my most valuable clients whose palates I respect the most also agree. The reds are so good and such crazy values, I know everyone will stock up. He has a sense of refinement and authenticity to his wines now with thrilling fruit and also a super classic expression of St. Joseph. But there is also an extraordinary density to these. You open one up and you know it will be good but not THAT good. It's that type of wine. For those not into just labels and you really want quality Sylvain Gauthier is the guy to go to. It has the elegance and classicism of a Gonon, the luxurious texture of an Allemand on a smaller scale and the density and structure of a Gripa. But it's all Gauthier. And they age as well as anybody. The 2013 St. Joseph is still going strong. 

The Wines

The first wine is the 2019 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph Rouge for $29.99 a bottle on a 4 pack purchase. This is such a good deal I cannot even describe it. This is really where my direct to consumer model pays off. Young improving grower, great vintage and direct to consumer prices. This is easily worth $45+ a bottle. It is stunning in 2019. I was taken aback how great a wine this inexpensive can be. The style here is classic and is so similar in style to Gonon. I know I've compared many producers to Gonon but that is in terms of quality. Today it is in terms of style, although the quality is through the roof obviously as well. When I say classic I mean this is authentic as it gets with a structure that demands 2-3 years of aging in big vintages like 2019. It is something that will improve for 10+ years after that. And this is dense. It's amazing how dense Sylvain's 19s are. They are refined but also dense. As he is such a good winemaker now that all his wines are refined.

Nose of olives, graphite and granite. Deep black olive tapenade and tons of berries. Black berries and wild berries. After air this gets super super floral and shows such startlingly pure fruit.

On the palate, huge power, depth and concentration and big, but ripe and substantial tannins. But of all the normal St. Jos I sell, this one benefits the most from age. 3-4 years this is what one wants to be drinking. Palate has terrific energy and precision. Big structure but sappy and insane freshness and acidity. Perfect balance and outrageous freshness. Really long and showing wonderful complexity. Really young with such fine tannins. So well knit and integrated as it airs. The first sip is a bruiser then it gets all elegant and fine. Tangy as well on the finish. A great wine.

The finish has ripe, toothsome tannins and a lovely granitic minerality.

This is a baby now. It has uncanny freshness and depth and is just so pure and long. I cannot believe how well made this wine is. Truly an accomplishment - the more it opened the more it resembled a junior Gonon. I tasted at Gonon a few days before I tasted the 18s and I cannot even describe how similar these wines are. Utterly classic and so traditional. Such classic unfettered St. Jo.

Now I have a brand new wine from the great Sylvain Gauthier and it is the 2019 Domaine des Pierres Seches St. Joseph “Revirand” for $44.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This wine is preposterously genius. What a debut. It’s 50 year old vines from weathered granite vineyards. It’s whole cluster fermentation. Then it’s aged for 18 months in 228 liter oak barrels. Anyway you’re all reading so you can get my impression of the wine. And wow was Impressed. So unique. The aromas are unlike any other St. Joseph. It smells like an insane Cote Rotie that costs $75.

Sick nose. Incense, spices, lavender, so floral and pretty. Orange rind and orange zest. Flower shop. Granite. So so pretty. Cote Rotie like nose. It’s layered and haunting. So so sick. The citrus and orange zest elements really stand out and make this so distinctive. Wow this nose does not let up with air. Citrus rind dipped in spices. Wow. This nose is up there with the best St. Jo. True perfume and so distinct that I might not even have a reference for this. Elite spice and cloves. This is maybe the most unique aromas on a St Jo I’ve ever smelled.

Palate is so refined and juicy. Wow. What an intense wine. So gamey and meaty. Gravy almost. Blackberry and black fruits. Huge acids. So juicy and terrific fruit and purity. Velvety and sweet tannins and a level of class and refinement not even seen in the Cuvee Aubert. Lovely and fresh. Really well balanced. Saturates the palate with a terrific fruit soak. Wow, the palate is sultry, complex and super concentrated and even a bit closed. Supple and pure. Big structure. Unreal texture and sweet fruit. This is something else. Excellent wine. Needs maybe 5 years! 9.6 on Delectable. No critics have reviewed.

2019 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph Rouge - $31.99 ($119.96 4-Pack)

2019 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph Rouge "Revirand" - $46.99 ($179.96 4-Pack)