Description

Roche Paradis has made a stunning wine here. Very good. Dark fruits, hints of oak and currants. Made by Yves Cuilleron’s vineyard manager as a side project. This is sourced from the Northern part of St-Jospeh. I find some St-Joseph can be a bit “generic Shiraz”; this wine is linear, focused and going to build on this foundation for over 10 years. A must try.

Yann Menager’s day job for the last 15 years is as vineyard manager for Yves Cuilleron. Yann has used this experience to purchase some superbly sited vineyards. To date he has acquired holdings of 6.5ha in Saint-Joseph, Condrieu and Côte Rôtie. His winery is on his family’s farm high above St-Jospeh. Using hand-picking, low-yields, and native yeast ferments, his wines are lean and elegant, they show the place they are grown more than the winemakers hand. They are engaging and delicious.

Saint-Joseph 

The terraced vineyards on the right bank of the Rhone Valley. This appellation is the largest area by land size but second to Crozes in total land under vines. Mostly gutsy reds from Syrah with some Marsanne and/or Roussanne which have a lesser need to age than Hermitage or Cote Rotie. There is also production of charming whites from Marsanne and/or Roussanne.

Shiraz/Syrah 

A bit of a chameleon, Shiraz can change how it looks depending on terroir and/or wine maker influence. The Syrah based wines of Northern Rhone are dry and austere while the Shiraz of Barossa is rich and fleshy. A variety that lends itself to long aging but can be drunk at any time of its evolution.