2020 St Joseph l'Olivaie
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Tasting notes
Brilliant stuff, the 2020 Saint Joseph L'Olivaie comes from older vines in the southern part of the appellation. Its deep purple/plum color is followed by a great bouquet of cassis and ripe blue fruits as well as spice, leather, and flowery incense. Beautifully balanced, medium to full-bodied, and seamless on the palate, it's already hard to resist yet will evolve gracefully for a solid decade or more. A brilliant Saint-Joseph, it reminds me slightly of a great Le Méal from Hermitage.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
Inky magenta. Heady aromas of fresh black and blue fruits, incense, exotic spices, violet and olive paste. Densely packed and energetic on the palate, offering intense dark berry preserve, cherry-cola, floral pastille and salty olive flavors, plus a hint of minerality and building spiciness. Finishes subtly chewy, focused and impressively long, with well-knit tannins adding grip to echoing dark fruit and floral notes. Roughly 15% new oak here.
100% Syrah. Dark olives and with some meatiness on the nose. Plenty of purity on the palate. Dark fruits. The wood is a little chunky at the moment – this needs a few more years to fully integrate. Fresh, long and elegant finish. Classy St-Joseph. (AWH)