Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 44

Year's Best Northern Rhône Wines
90 | Ch. de Saint Cosme

$85

2018 Condrieu ^ This is all about texture-
rich, round, dense and smooth, the result of
having spent a year on the fine lees in barrels.
The flavors are comparatively restrained,
notes of citrus, olive brine and white tea
subduing viognier's sweet peachiness. It's a
Condrieu that you could pour for someone
who doesn't normally like viognier. § Winebow
Imports, NY

C R O Z E S - H E R M I TA G E
279562

91 | Ferraton Père & Fils

$29

2019 Crozes-Hermitage La Matinière ^ A
satiny marsanne, this is smooth and savory,
its yellow-apple flavors upholstered with
saline notes and hints of resinous herbs.
Its calm, even-keeled flavors will make a
pleasant backdrop for a wide range of dishes,
from roast chicken to rich Indonesian curries. §
Sera Wine Imports, NY

H E R M I TA G E
279574

96 | E. Guigal

$350

2016 Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc ^ In 2016, the
Guigals had to forgo bottling a red version of
Ex Voto, as their syrah parcels were devastated
by hail. Their marsanne and roussanne took
a hit, too, but enough fruit remained to
make this powerhouse Hermitage blanc. It's
a huge wine, filled with juicy fresh fruit as
well as plenty of spiced vanilla tones from 30
months spent in new oak barrels coopered
at Guigal. It's also mouthwatering, with a
salinity and a nuttiness that highlights the
fruit, the way a layer of marzipan and a pinch
of salt can bolster the flavor of peaches in a
tart. An earthy savor grounds the wine, and
offers plenty of room for more complexity
to develop with time in the cellar. § Vintus, NY

ST-JOSEPH
279575

96 | E. Guigal

$75

2018 St-Joseph Lieu-Dit Blanc ^ This smells
rich and aristocratic, with vast depths of
spicy oak and golden fruit. And yet, on the
palate, it feels brisk and energetic, the wood
and fruit swirled into a whirlpool of savory
mineral flavor. It's flinty and firm, with
a filigree of lemon and herbal notes that
reinforces the fresh impression. Just a baby
now, this needs another decade to come into
its own. § Vintus, NY
279603

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

92 | Domaines des
Pierres Séches

$42

2018 St-Joseph Blanc ^ Sylvain Gauthier
founded his St-Joseph domaine in 2007
after working with Michel Chapoutier and
Stéphane Robert. He farms 13.5 acres there,
including two acres planted to roussanne,
which provide this wine. It's dense and rich
in a calm, quiet way, with notes of beeswax,
honey, lemon and roasted peaches filling out
the middle, and a mineral crunch reinforcing
the structure. It ends clean, with a hint of
salinity that makes it palate-whetting, and
suggests a match with a fennel-stuffed roast
fish. § North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA

RE D
CO L L INES RH ODANIENNES
279533

88 | Domaine Martin Clerc $21

2018 Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah (Best
Buy) ^ This is bright and fresh, with cherryjuicy flavors and herbal notes that add to
its brisk feel. It's entirely savory, a mediumweight red for roast salmon and mushrooms. §
Shiverick Imports, Los Angeles, CA

94 | Dumien-Serrette

$65

2017 Cornas Patou ^ This is wild Cornas,
floral, herbal and peppery. Nicolas Serrette
makes it from a parcel of 70-year-old vines
south of the village of Cornas, fermenting
whole bunches with ambient yeasts, crushing
the berries by foot and aging it a year in
neutral oak barrels, so there's no makeup on
the wine-just pure red fruit with notes of
bacon and black pepper, granite and herbs,
lively and brisk even as the flavors run deep. §
North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA

CORNAS

279535

93 | Jean-Luc Colombo

279537

94 | Jean-Luc Colombo

$105

2018 Cornas Les Ruchets ^ Laure Co--lombo
now works with her father, Jean-Luc, to make
the wines at this Cornas estate. Les Ruchets
remains the family's flagship wine, from a
steep, 5.4-acre plot of 90-year-old vines. She's
kept the house style clean and fruit-forward,
working with destemmed berries fermented
in stainless-steel tanks, but she's pulled back
on the new oak for aging, so that it's easier to
taste the quality of the fruit on release. That
quality is clear in this 2018, which brims
with a mix of fruit, florals and herbal notes
that makes it feel wild and fresh. The flavors
run deep but stay firm, trimmed by finegrained tannins and bright acidity. As W&S
editor Corey Warren said, " it's complex and
convincing right out of the bottle, " and it's
sure to become even more so with time in the
cellar. § Taub Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL

$64

2018 Cornas Terres Brûlées ^ Laure
Colombo builds this cuvée from an array of
estate parcels. Her 2018 is lush, smooth and
immediately appealing, a fountain of purpleplum fruit pouring from its center. Notes of
lilacs and red raspberry keep it buoyant,
while chocolatey tannins hold it firm. It's
ready to enjoy, though it wouldn't be a bad
idea to forget a few bottles in the cellar. § Taub
Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL

279536

93 | Jean-Luc Colombo

$271

2018 Cornas Vallon de L'Aigle ^ The
Colombos make this cuvée only when they

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dumien+serrette+pastou+cornas+rhone+france/2017 https://www.taubfamilyselections.com/producers/jean-luc-colombo https://www.taubfamilyselections.com/producers/jean-luc-colombo https://www.taubfamilyselections.com/producers/jean-luc-colombo

Wine & Spirits - February 2021

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