2019 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Le Clos
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Tasting notes
Opaque violet. Displays an array of ripe black and blue fruit and floral qualities on the deeply perfumed nose, along with savory suggestions of olive, pipe tobacco and smoked meat. In a distinctly wild style, offering bitter cherry, cassis, chewing tobacco and fruitcake flavors and smoky bacon and sweet chewing tobacco notes. Fans out slowly through an impressively long, gently chewy finish that features well-knit tannins and resonating cassis and spice notes.
Critic scores
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Dark, lively crimson. Gorgeous! Offers much more pleasure than the Hermitage Les Greffieux 2008. Sad that prices of this wine and the best St-Josephs generally have been edging up since about 2012. (JR)
More elegant, the 2019 Saint Joseph Le Clos has an incredibly granite nose of cassis, leather, ground pepper, and powdered rock. Tasting like a Hermitage from Bessards, it’s medium to full-bodied, has remarkable purity, fine tannins, and a seamless mouthfeel. I suspect the acidity is quite low, but this has a great sense of freshness as well as length.
From east-facing vines that were planted at the end of the 1990s, Chapoutier's 2019 Saint-Joseph Le Clos offers up scents of crushed stone, blackberries, cassis and hints of scorched coffee. Full-bodied, concentrated and rich, it's dense, creamy textured and plush on the mid-palate, finishing long and velvety. I suspect I may be underestimating it.