2020 | Domaine Courbis | St Joseph Les Royes

Burning embers, graphite, violets, and mostly blue fruits dominate the 2020 Saint Joseph Les Royes, an Hermitage-like Saint Joseph that has medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Aged in 25% new oak, the 2020 Saint Joseph Les Royes was still in barrels at the time of my visit, so I was presented a representative sample for review. Hints of black raspberries and mocha appear on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is supple, creamy and gently tannic, with a lingering finish. I expect this seductive offering will be approachable upon release (it's slated to be bottled in March or April of 2022) and drink well through the rest of this decade. It was great to be back at the Courbis's hillside tasting room in the tiny commune of Châteaubourg, hosted by the always genial Laurent Courbis. We started with prepared barrel samples of the 2020s, a vintage which he said, "[is] ripe but fresh, aromatic, with great balance, similar to 2017." We then moved into the bottled 2019s, which are another solid vintage for the Courbis family, although maybe lacking some of the spark of 2020. These are modern, ripe, sometimes oaky wines that I'm sure make some purists wince but which provide immense pleasure and have yet to see prices soar out of reach.

• Vinous: Bright purple. Spice-accented red and blue fruit aromas show fine delineation and are complemented by suggestions of vanilla and candied violet. Sappy and nicely concentrated yet lively as well, offering juicy cherry and boysenberry flavors that become spicier with air. Smoothly blends power and finesse and finishes long and smooth, with supple tannins emerging slowly.

Producer Information

Domaine Courbis is a wine estate in the northern Rhône. It is best known for its red wines made from Syrah grown in the Cornas and Saint-Joseph appellations. All wines are suitable for vegans. The estate owns about 35 hectares (87 acres) of vineyards on south and east facing hillsides. There are 8ha of Syrah in Cornas and 18ha in Saint-Joseph. In the latter there are also 5ha of white varieties – mostly Marsanne with a little Roussanne. These are planted on outcrops of limestone. There is also a one hectare plot in Saint-Péray, split between Marsanne and Roussanne. Even smaller parcels include some Crozes-Hermitage Syrah at Pont de l'Isère, plus some Syrah vines classified as IGP Ardèche and IGP Collines Rhodaniennes. The winery is built into the hillside in the far south of the Saint-Joseph zone on the border with Cornas. It is gravity fed to allow gentle movement of must and wine. Grapes are hand harvested and 100 percent de-stemmed. The white Saint-Josephs are fermented in tank; the standard cuvée matures for 10-12 months, with one third in new oak and the rest in tank. It is 97 percent Marsanne with a touch of Roussanne. The single vineyard Les Royes bottling of Marsanne is aged for 16 months in barriques, 80 percent of which are new. The Saint Péray is partially barrel fermented and aged in tank and barrique. The Syrahs are vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel. Timings vary across the range. Lighter red wines are matured in a mix of tank and used barriques. The top two Cornas wines are La Sabarotte and Les Eygats, both aged new and one year old oak. The former has a 70:30 split while the latter is 50:50.

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