Domaine Pierre Gonon - Saint Joseph 2023
Located in Mauves, on the historic slopes of the appellation, Domaine Pierre Gonon has become a true benchmark for classic great Saint Joseph wines. Here, Syrah is crafted as a wine of place, with meticulous respect for the granite soils, modest yields, and perfectly controlled ripeness. The estate favors manual work, low-intervention viticulture, and a constant pursuit of finesse rather than power. The hillside plots, often old, naturally produce concentrated grapes but always marked by the freshness of the northern Rhône Valley. Each vintage is approached with the same exacting standards, in a style of great sobriety, designed for aging. The 2023 Saint Joseph follows this tradition, with the elegance and precision that have made the house's reputation.
The 2023 Saint Joseph cuvée comes from various granite hillside plots, blended to create a complete expression of the appellation. The vintage, bright but without excess, allowed for achieving beautiful phenolic maturity while maintaining a clear acidic framework. The harvest is entirely manual, with rigorous sorting and a significant portion of whole clusters to bring energy, floral notes, and spicy complexity. Fermentations take place with indigenous yeasts only, following a gentle extraction approach to favor the finesse of the tannin grain. Aging is done in large wooden vats and several-use barrels to refine the texture without imprinting the wine with wood. The result is a 2023 Saint Joseph that is both deep, slender, and highly terroir-expressive.
On the nose, the wine opens with a pure bouquet of violet, fresh black fruits, crunchy raspberry, and black pepper, complemented by a very subtle smoky touch. On the palate, the attack is juicy and straightforward, with precise fruit supported by tight yet elegant tannins that outline a vertical structure. The mid-palate blends blackberry, blackcurrant, small red berries, graphite notes, and black olive in the background, with a slender texture and no heaviness. The finish is long, fresh, slightly saline, marked by spices, dried herbs, and a return of black fruits that underline the wine's great drinkability. At the table, this 2023 Saint Joseph ideally accompanies roasted poultry, herb-crusted rack of lamb, grilled beef cuts, or refined bistro cuisine. It also shows superbly with structured vegetarian dishes based on mushrooms, roasted vegetables, or a root vegetable gratin.
Grape varieties: 100% Syrah
