Saint Joseph D86 AOP 2024

A youthfully fresh, juicy and especially fragrant Saint-Joseph that you won't want to put down. Intense violet in the glass, above it a deep, clear bouquet of violet, salmiak pastilles, blackberry, blueberry and cassis, along with red cherry, liquorice and a hint of tar.

The grapes grow in Saint-Joseph on heavily weathered granite soils with clay and silt. Domaine du Coulet is based in Cornas: Matthieu Barret joined his grandfather in 1997, took over the vineyards a year later, and bottled his first own vintage in 2000. The estate's 20 hectares lie on steep, south-facing terraces cut into the granite rock. The estate has farmed biodynamically since 2002, and since 2012 has used mules and horses instead of tractors.

Single-varietal Syrah, fully destemmed and spontaneously fermented. In the first week the must was pumped over, in the second the cap was punched down once a day; after two weeks fermentation was complete. Ageing took place in 10-hl terracotta jars and concrete tanks. The estate has done away with barriques entirely as of the 2017 vintage. The credo is 100% grape, minimal sulphur, no fining, no filtration; around 2 g of sulphites are added only at bottling.

Juicy, fresh and linear, supple in texture, with fine tannin and clear acidity. Mineral notes lend precision, the finish is pronounced. At 12.0% vol. the wine remains dry and lively, without losing depth.

The estate's vines are on average 40 to 55 years old, yields are around 23 hectolitres per hectare. Terracotta and concrete instead of wood, spontaneous fermentation, sulphites added only at bottling.