As Pure as the Driven Snow: The Stunningly Elegant Northern Rhone Syrahs of Sylvain Gauthier

Most discussions of wines from St. Joseph start with an admission that the wines are rustic, but then go

on to try and explain how this is fine.  I have no problem with the occasional rustic wine, but today's offer requires no such explanation.  Sylvain Gauthier makes some of the most pure, sleek, elegant wines I've ever had from the Northern Rhone.  He's in a new generation of winemakers revitalizing the wines of the region and he was an absolute find on my recent trip and an absolute must try for Syrah lovers.

The first wine is the 2012 Domaine Pierres Seches "Cuvee Georges de la Tour" which can be had for as little as $19.99 on the 4-pack. This is an absolute freak show of a wine; big, gulpable, dense, sleek, with sexy mouthful.  A pure Syrah that sees no wood and is fermented with natural yeasts. The character and pure quality this wine has for $19.99 is amazing.  This blows away any $30 Syrah-based Cotes du Rhone on the market.  This is 100% indigenous yeast fermented and raised in stainless steel. All the grapes are hand-picked. This is a meticulous love affair of a Syrah. This is what juicy should strive to be. The fruit is generous and often. As far as Syrah values at Fass Selections, this is tops. This is the perfect wine to open on a Sunday night to watch Mad Men as it, like Mad Men, has many layers, yet you can also watch with one eye scrolling through Twitter and enjoy it just as much. Nothing better than decomposed granite and Syrah, which gives it this backbone of minerality under all that juicy fruit. Just like the Guignier wines, it is so damn drinkable and joyous.  Drink over the next 3-5 years as you want to catch this on the fruit.

If the Georges de la Tour Syrah is his business card, then the 2011 St. Joseph, is the nameplate on his desk. The 2011 Domaine Pierres Seches St. Joseph, which can be had for as little as $29.99 on the 4-pack, is quite an accomplishment.  It is from vines planted in the 1960's in decomposed granitic soils from Sarras, Aras and Vion. Vinified in steel vats and fermented with wild yeasts and then aged in oak for 12-14 months with 90% of the grapes destemmed turns this into a very serious wine. What you get is a different expression of St. Joseph than say a Gonon or a Gripa, but just as noteworthy. Sleeker, graceful and elegant but still packs a wallop and has a wonderful structure. The nose is fantastic. So detailed and refined with that wild Syrah character, there, but controlled. The purity and fruit explosion is just wonderful. Very long juicy finish that like many of the Northern Rhone wines I bring in, leaves you wanting more. The fruit is generous and dark with dark griotte-like cherries and wonderful complexity added by a nice current of herbs that runs throughout. Honest as Syrah gets. I want all the Syrah in my book to be fresh above all else. Yes, they can be dense, rich and layered but if they don't have that acidic backbone, it is not entering your e-mail box. This is one of the most memorable St. Joseph's I discovered on my recent jaunt through Europe. I liked it above all for its non pretentiousness and honesty. No make-up here. Naked. Real. Whatever you want to call it. Quantities are limited.  Drink now through 2024.

Young Sylvain Gauthier is a force to be reckoned with. I met him at the Salon des Vins,this past winter, in Tain l'Ermitage. He only started with estate.  The Domaine des Pierres Seches in 2007 so this is a young and up and coming winemaker who we will all be clamoring for soon enough. Sylvain, besides grabbing the attention of every woman in the room due to his youthful good looks, makes a deliciously drinkable Syrah from St. Joseph and one of the most exciting IGP Syrah's I have ever tasted from the amazing 2012 vintage. IGP is basically the upgraded terminology for the term VDP (Vin de pays aka country wine).  It is in between VDT and AOC wine to give growers more flexibility to make the type of wines they want outside of the strict AOC laws.

Sylvain Gauthier has had a whirlwind of a wine education, from studying viticulture in the Beaune and then working at Chapoutier in Tain l'Hermitage to debuting his estate in 2007, he hasn't had much time to think, bur he has time to tirelessly spend in the vineyards and in his cellar perfecting his style.The utmost care goes into Sylvain's wines. In my conversation with him is was very apparent he was obsessed with quality. Production is small, with a measly 5 hectares of which 4 are planted to Syrah.

2012 Domaine Pierres Seches (Sylvain Gauthier) Vin de France Cuvee Georges de la Tour - $22.99 ($79.76 6-pack)

2011 Domaine Pierres Seches (Sylvain Gauthier) St. Joseph - $32.99 

($119.96 a 4-pack) (LIMITED)