One of Our Top Value 2018 St. Josephs - Stylistically Like a Gonon/Gripa Hybrid - Classic,Old School, Elegant Combined with Great Density

An Old School Fass Selections Producer
 - Nipping at the Heels of the Top 8 in St. Joseph
 - A Fraction of the Prices of the Big Boys
 - Another One Of Our Best St. Joseph Deals

2018 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph
- Dark Flowers, Almost Black Fruits 
- 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

2018  Domaine des Pierres Seches Gamay/Syrah IGP "Pur Ju"
 - Incredible Gamay/Syrah Blend from St. Joseph Terroir
 - One of the Most Original Wines in the Northern Rhone
 - Extravagant Fruit, Mineral Cut, Amazing Purity, Wonderful Silken Texture, Great Density
 - An Absolute Steal for $26.99
 - Must Buy for Beaujolais Lovers
- Gamay/Syrah Blends Will Be Much More Common In The Future

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 and Trollat (as well as today's offer Sylvain Gauthier) are here.  Thisstyle 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 2018s are not just better than his outstanding 17s but dramatically better. 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.

The Wines
The first wine is the 2018 Domaine Des Pierres Seches St. Joseph 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 2018. 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 2018. It is something that will improve for 10+ years after that. And this is dense. It's amazing how dense Sylvain's 18s are. They are refined but also dense. As he is such a good winemaker now that all his wines are refined. This is a big, dense, complex and meaty wine with amazing sweet fruit and a big structured backbone that is also achingly refined, sleek and beautiful. Man the fruit is sweet and the nose has olive, game, red berry fruit - all you could ask for. It becomes more and more aromatic as it opens. Such a meaty inviting nose. Black fruits, forest, lavender, thyme, floral, so stunning. Utterly classic and so traditional. Such classic unfettered St. Jo.

Palate has terrific energy and precision. Big structure but sappy and insane freshness and acidity. 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 here and I cannot even describe how similar these wines are. You'll have to see yourself.  For $33.99 this and the Desestret St. Joseph VV are the best value St. Josephs I'll sell.


Now I am very very exited to tell you about the next wine. It's a brand new wine from Sylvain Gauthier. It's the 2nd vintage. What about the wine? It's Gamay. It's also Syrah.  It's from St. Joseph. And it follows in the footsteps of the famous, no longer made, Domaine Les Alexandrins "Intuition." The 2018 Domaine des Pierres Seches Gamay IGP "Pur Ju" can be had for $26.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and this wine is an unreal value. Gamay from St. Joseph has the weight of Gamay but it firmly has the granitic snap of great St. Joseph. And with the Syrah blended in it has a bit more body than a  normal  Gamay. It's awesome and so so singular. Most people can't make sense of Gamay in the Rhone but indeed Beaujolais is in the Valle du Rhone so Gamay on granite two hours south is totally feasible. This is one of the most original wines in the Northern Rhone as it takes Gamay and Syrahthinizes it. It is just so much like a St. Joseph from a noble terroir that you forget you are drinking IGP Gamay/Syrah. It just shows, almost more than any other wine I've had, that if you have a great place, the grape can be far secondary. Just a vehicle. It makes me wonder if plant some Gamay in Cornas what would happen. Or some Syrah in the Cote de Py. These areas are not as dissimilar as one  would think. It's very reminiscent of a great St. Joseph much more than it is reminiscent of a Gamay grown in St. Joseph. Would have a 98% stump rate in blind tastings. But beyond that it is so staggeringly pure. It has an amazing delicacy and breed of something much finer, more distinct. The 2018 "Pur Jus" brings to it ample minerality, beautiful pure fruit and solid structure that gives this wine 2-4 years of prime drinking but can last a bit longer There  is amazing length. Mineral, granite, sap, berry compote assault the olfactory senses like only Gamay grow in granite can do. Lovely dark berry and cocoa after this gets me air. I love this wine for its extravagant fruit, mineral cut, amazing purity, and wonderful silken texture. And the price. Toothsome as they say with slabs of granitic minerality on the palate. Brilliant value.

2018 Domaine des Pierres Seches (Sylvain Gauthier) St. Joseph Rouge - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack) 

2018 Domaine des Pierres Seches (Sylvain Gauthier) IGP "Pur Ju" (Gamay/Syrah) - $28.99 

($107.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $2.53)