Pierre Gonon, St-Joseph 2019

Description

This bottling incorporates 3ha of 80yo vines purchased from the legendary Raymond Trollat in St Jean de Muzols (representing one third of the wine). Jean notes that no clones are used at all now for this wine, just massal selections. Made from 90% whole bunches in 2019, harvested between September 16-25th. A dark, black cherry colour, this is a dense, structured, savoury wine with typical stamp of blackberry fruit and notable tapenade and liquorice, 14.2% alcohol, an irony grip on the finish with the palate staining quality typical of fruit from St Jean de Muzols. The dry extract and mineral print from this vineyard are such that they almost suck all the saliva out of your mouth when young and provide a perfect backbone to help the wine age very well – as a guide Jean Gonon recommends six years. It is certainly much more structured and concentrated than either 2017 or 2018, but the tannins are ripe and fine, not at all dry as they were in a super-hot year like 2003. For drinking from 2022 to 2030.