Looking at the in-bottle releases, the 2011 Saint Joseph Domaine is a mid-weight, fresh and lively effort that gives up classic Syrah olive, black raspberry, licorice and spice in its clean, nicely focused and enjoyable personality. Drink this delicious, bistro-styled effort over the coming couple of years. This was a stacked lineup from this top-notch estate, and I was able to taste through the lineup multiple times, once while visiting the domaine, and again in a larger lineup of wines from each appellation. They never failed to impress. Located in the tiny town of Chateaubourg and covering roughly 50 acres in Saint-Joseph and 20 in Cornas, most of which are ideally situated, Courbis is now run by Laurent and Dominique Courbis, with Laurent running the cellar and Dominique managing the vineyards. Despite the high quality, these wines remain reasonably priced, and also see good distribution in the US. It’s an estate that needs to be on every Northern Rhone lover’s short list. Importer: Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082