“Integrated and layered already, this wine has ages to go before it comes fully into its own. For now, enjoy youthful aromas and flavors of red cherry, raspberry, dewy rose petals cacao and gentle oak spices. Those with patience, practice it—this wine will only become more complex and interesting with time. Drink now through at least 2030.”

“Vivacious from the go, with pronounced aromas of black cherry and plum, bittersweet cacao, blackberry bush, bramble and mushroomy forest floor. The palate follows through, adding additional layering of black tea and violet potpourri. Let the fine-grained tannins tickle your tongue, the vibrant acidity give you that prickle of energy and that long, lengthy finish convince you of another sip.”

“Barrel fermented and aged sur lie for five months in (18% new) French oak, the wine glistens with Meyer lemon and honeydew. Pineapple, gardenia, and sweet basil line the palate, lending a zingy profile to a finish of salty minerality.”

“The 2020 Saint Joseph François De Tournon is on another level, with gorgeous intensity in its red and black fruits, smoky, meaty, sweaty saddle leathery nuances, obvious minerality, and beautiful finish. This complex, nuanced Saint Joseph picks up more violet and granite-like minerality with time in the glass and shines on all accounts. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, and this should be snatched up by savvy readers. It would easily pass undetected in a lineup of top Hermitage. ”

“The 2020 Saint Joseph Sainte-Epine is another Hermitage look-alike, with a slightly Bessards-like character in its ripe blue fruits, liquid violets, burning embers, and leather-slanted aromas and flavors. It's more inward, reserved, and focused compared to the François de Tournon but is beautifully concentrated and balanced, with ripe, polished tannins. The purity of fruit here is seriously impressive. It offers plenty of pleasure today yet has another 10-15 years of prime drinking and, I suspect, a gradual decline thereafter. It's slightly more plush and soft compared to the 2015, yet I think at the same quality level.”