Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph 2018

“Deep violet. Intensely perfumed, mineral-accented aromas of red and blue fruit preserves, licorice, exotic spices and potpourri, along with an exotic suggestion of incense. Stains the palate with concentrated black raspberry, cassis, bitter cherry and fruitcake flavors that are given spicy lift by a suggestion of white pepper. A violet pastille nuance emerges with aeration and carries through an extremely long, youthfully tannic finish that shows outstanding definition and mineral thrust. Drinking window: 2026-2036. 95 points

Jean Gonon’s take on the 2018 vintage is that it’s one “where ripeness and freshness converge.” The wines are on the rich side, relatively speaking, “but not as powerful as 2017 nor as elegant as 2016, and definitely not as structured as 2015,” he said. Worldwide attention to this domaine’s outstanding wines has caused availability to dry up and driven prices increasingly higher, but there’s no question that they are solidly placed in the upper tier of quality in the northern Rhône, which makes them look pretty reasonable, price-wise, when compared to plenty of other top performers.”

Josh Raynolds, Vinous (04/20)