“Classic, slightly reductive Granite notes of cassis, damp earth, violets, and both red and white pepper emerge from the 2019 Saint Joseph François De Tournon, a pure, elegant medium-bodied Saint Joseph that brings good ripeness yet also a terrific sense of purity and freshness. It's already hard to resist with a decant and will drink well for 10-12+ years.”

“Starting off the Côte Rôties, the 2019 Côte Rôtie Seigneur De Maugiron comes from a mix of terroirs (both in the northern and southern parts) and is 100% Syrah brought up in a combination of new and used barrels. It's beautifully done and shows the sunny, ripe, sexy style of the vintage, offering lots of black raspberry fruits, notes of bacon fat, spring flowers, and scorched earth, medium to full body, a round, lush mouthfeel, and sweet tannins. It's a brilliant Côte Rôtie geared for drinking over the coming 10-15 years or so.”

“There are two Hermitage releases from this talented team. Looking at the 2019 Hermitage Domaine Des Tourettes, it offers a darker, more black-fruited, smoky profile revealing ample scorched earth, graphite, leather, and classic Hermitage meatiness. This carries to a medium to full-bodied beauty with a plush, layered mouthfeel, plenty of tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. Given its wealth of fruit and sweet tannins, it's already drinkable, yet smart money will give these just 4-5 years in the cellar and enjoy bottles over the following two decades. As always, this cuvée comes from three separate parcels: l'Ermite, Les Bessards, and Le Sabot, and it was destemmed and brought up in a mix of new and used French oak.”

“A smaller production release, the 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos hails from the Les Saviots lieu-dit and was brought up mostly in neutral oak. It's a denser, more closed wine offering serious aromatics of ripe black and blue fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and saddle leather, with an almost Hermitage-like sense of meatiness and power. Full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with notable purity, it has some background oak, ripe tannins, good freshness, and a great finish. It needs to be forgotten for at least 3-4 years and will keep for well over a decade. It's a brilliant wine.”

“Ripe red and black fruits, spice, leather, herbes de Provence, and some meaty nuances all emerge from the 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Des Grands Chemins, a gorgeous Crozes that shines on all accounts. Medium to full-bodied and balanced, it has fine tannins, a notable sense of purity and freshness, and a great finish. It's the finest vintage for this cuvée I've tasted, and it will evolve for 10-15 years if well stored. While this comes from the Les Chassis region, it almost has a granite-like feel in its tannins and acidity. It's impressive!”