The outrageously delicious 2009 St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph exhibits a dense purple color as well as a big, smoky bouquet revealing hints of gun flint, powdered rock, graphite, black currants and black cherries. Medium to full-bodied with silky tannins, this beauty begs for consumption over the next 10-12 years.
If the turn around in quality of the Paul Jaboulet-Aine wines is the biggest good news story of qualitative improvement in the northern Rhone, what Michel Chapoutier has accomplished with Ferraton is a close second. This is definitely a name to be taken seriously, as Chapoutier has expanded the portfolio and continues to upgrade the quality across the board. Ferraton’s 2009s and 2010s are the finest wines made to date. There appears to be three levels of quality now being produced, beginning with the generic bottlings, to the single vineyard (or lieu-dit) offerings, followed by the top of the line, more expensive, limited production efforts called selections parcellaires.
Importer: A French Paradox, Peoria, IL; tel. (309) 682-8994