2016 Northern Rhone Vintage Report (Important) Plus Our First 2016 Offer: 80-140 Year Old Vines, Incredible Wines

The Great Debate: 2015 or 2016 for Northern Rhone Reds
2015 Will Be the Vintage of the Century for Most...

2016 Has Fruit- It's About the Naked Expression of Terroir

 - Balance, Aromatics 

 - It Will Get Some Votes Over 2015

These St. Josephs Are Our First for a Reason

 - Incredibly Well Made, Delicious 

 - Insane Values

Please Don't Sleep on the White - Just Get a Bottle at Least - It's Incredible and Will Change How You Think About NR Whites

The calendar has turned again from 2015 to 2016. We had our first 2016 German offer last month and now we have our first 2016 Rhone offer which is the one we always begin with. The brilliant and subtle St. Josephs of Mikael Desestret from the very old vines located in St. Epine. I adore these wines. 

2016 Northern Rhone Vintage Report (Important)

First, let me discuss the 2016 vintage. It is a brilliant vintage and totally different and is not 2015. It shares some characteristics of 2015 but as I asked more and more winemakers what it reminded them off they said the 1991's. 1991 came after 1990 which is a similar vintage to 2015. While 2015 is a big bruiser with enormous aging potential the wines are all about the baby fat of its youthful nuclear levels of fruit. As was 1990. 2016 is more nimble but also not too far off in magnitude than 2015 with a different profile. For such young wines there is a marked terroir character that is very present. They are very elegant but there is also ample fruit. I'd say the fruit profile is like a cross between '10 and '13 to be more current as I did not taste the 91's young. They are rich yet tensile with really amazing elegance at such a young age. There is much flavor intensity and is presented more on a silk thread than a big thick rope like 2015 was. 15 will gain finesse with time but 16 has it right off the bat. 

The Reds

There is terrific energy to the 16s and the fruit is also more on the black/blue side than the red side. Nimble yet forceful. 

The Whites

The whites continue the streak of brilliant vintages for white that is unheard of in the history of the Rhone. 13, 14, 15, and now 16 which harkens back to 14 with its intensity, energy and amazing acidity. I like the furor character in 16 a bit more than 14. It's more vivid and clean but also the acid is amazing in 16 whites which gives these wines so much energy. And of course the trademark of 16, for me, and many others is the finesse. The 2016 Rhone whites are like clouds on the palate yet have lighting streaking through them. 

The first wine 2016 Domaine de la Côte Epine St. Joseph St. Epine Vieilles Vignes Rouge ($24.99 each on 4 today for the 2016). 

OK - this is a bit of a journey, so bear with me.  

1) First, we tasted the young vine barrels (2 different components) which are vines that average 85 years. The youngest vines here are 70 years old. Remember when Raymond Trollat retired he split his vineyards amongst Gonon and Desestret. The guy has old vines up the ying-yang. So his young vines average 85 years old. It was thrilling to taste all the components and then make a hypothetical blend in my glass of the three components that will go into the final blend, Just tasting the the first 85 year vine component was eye opening. Beautifully fresh and elegant with lovely black fruits and really compelling freshness combined with such nimbleness was really wonderful. Mikael has improved as a winemaker since I started with him with the 12 vintage. The fruit expression which is mostly dark is stunning. Probably the two words I'd use to describe this vintage if anyone just randomly asked me - Stupid elegant. And maybe a 3rd word would be stunning. The fruit in this component part was black/blue, layered and fresh with great acidity and terrific depth. Licorice, raspberry, olive, black pepper galore invade your palate like an alien species of flavor. It almost tastes alien how great it is. 

2) We then tasted another 85 year old vine average component that was a bit more tannic, but also with glorious fruit and that freshness again. But this was to provide the structure as component 1 was more about fruit and freshness. Even the tannic component in 16 was elegant. 

3) And then he let me taste a treat. It was just the barrels of the 140+ year old Syrah vines. It was beyond. Just beyond. Dark, black, rich, insanely fresh, so deep. It was actually almost too much of a good thing and that is why he blends it with the 2 85 year old average vine's components. I asked of course if he wanted to make a super VV version and we discussed it and came up that it would be too much and it takes away from the one white one red idea that Mikael ascribes to. It's nice that he does not make some $75 super cuvee. All the better for us. But if you ever visit Mikael, ask him to taste the old old vines. It's like nothing I've experienced in wine. Anyway we made a blend of the 85/85/140 year old vines and it is very close to the blend that is the wine that I am selling today. 

This will be bottled in December so the final blend will be up to Mikael, which is why I wanted to describe all 3 components and the final blend which we made. It was a tour de force to use my favorite wine critic's words here. I've sold 5 vintages of this wine and this one eats those for breakfast besides the mythical 15. Many years down the road a comparison tasting of Mikael's 15 and 16 will be fascinating. The nose was a complex panoply of deep red and black fruits, granite perfume, black olive, smoke, lavender, herbs, grilled meats and more. It was just stunning. I can smell it now. The palate was like a harmonic convergence of the best parts of all 3 components. So deep, with a tsunami of dark and blue fruit, that is so vivid and pure. Yet so retrained and elegant. It's almost in 4-D. The wine tastes you. You do not taste this wine. It has refreshing acidity and I mean the refreshing quality allied with the depth and complexity of fruit is just remarkable. Amazing acids and delicacy. The wine is ridiculously juicy. Super fruit but backed up by serious mineral backbone.  You get lost in the mid palate and come back for a crescendo of a finish. It's a total "I have no words but so many words wine." Buy cases of this. It's just stupid good. Inquire about case prices. They will be good prices. 

Please Do Not Skip Reading About the White.

But there is more! I have always loved Mikael's white 2016 Domaine de la Côte Epine St. Joseph St. Epine Blanc Vieilles Vignes ($24.99 each on 4 today for the 2016) and before he poured me the '16, which was bottled in May and is all sold out at the Domaine except for my allocation for this email which he saved for me, we discussed how much I loved '13 and '14, and how for me and my business partner they are the reference point Rhone white wines we encourage our clients to drink young. They have great acidity. I don't know how he does it but the acid in Mikael's whites is downright electric. I think '15 is the best to date, but Mikael interrupted me as he poured me the '16!and after I tasted it, he smiled and said, are you sure? Nope, I wasn't anymore. The 2016 is that much better than the '15 and more! Incredible stuff. From an average of 100 year old vines. It has a baroque, grandiose quality, along with its scintillating acidity and depth. Aromas of honey and white flowers. It takes over your palate like a wine amoeba. It is so juicy and  mouthwatering. It  has such nice richness or "gras" as John Livingstone Learmouth would say. It has epic length in '16 but I think will drink better younger than the '14 did at this stage.   This is NOT like any other young Northern Rhone white you have ever had.  I've served this to several people who HATE  Northern Rhone Whites because they are too fruity, honeyish and lacking in acid - they've all loved this. It is a really terrific wine - more about balance, freshness and soaring floral aromatics than fruit (even though, it obviously has terrific fruit).  It has brightness that comes from acid balance. The finesse is wonderful and long and with the very nice crisp acids of 2016 this is outstanding wine and an outrageous value. The freshness, minerality and just plain depth of this wine is incredible. It lasts and lasts and lasts.

2016 Domaine de la Saint Cote Epine St Joseph Rouge "Vieilles Vignes" - $26.99 ($99.96 4-pack) 

2016 Domaine de la Saint Cote Epine St Joseph Blanc"Vieilles Vignes" - $26.99 ($99.96 4-pack)