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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.2 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 207 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Brain Capers on 4/30/2024: Gave the bottle a quick chill, and cork came out clean. Wow, just a fabulous Saint Joseph. When Chambers sold the wine for $30, got several vintages, then they had to limit bottles. So on one of the trips, visited the Greek (see Fass selections) in Tain l’Hermitage, and bought 6. So this is one from France, and it was just the best of Saint Joseph. WOW. Yum (963 views) | | | Tasted by platpeeps on 2/23/2024 & rated 93 points: Fresh, saline and spicy with delicious flavours of blackberry and liquorice. The initially firm tannins simply melt away to leave a really satisfying lingering sensation of black fruits, black chocolate and black pepper. A nicely weighted and succulent medium red with totally the right balance of fruit, acidity and tannins. It doesn’t have to shout it just kept delivering fascination and interest with every sip and combined superbly with slow-cooked lamb shanks. Alas my first bottle was corked but fortunately this second really lived up to its promise. CHP 93 pts . (1793 views) | | | Tasted by Vas19 on 2/21/2024: Another bottle with unwanted bacteria (2036 views) | | | Tasted by jonnysandwich on 2/3/2024 & rated 95 points: As others have mentioned, this is an olive-forward year. Where Clape often reminds me of the black cured variety (very salty, and wonderful), Gonon is greener--rich savory Picholine flesh. The fatty finish is pure tapenade, and lingers deliciously.
Elsewhere there's pepper bacon, tart cherry, and a burnt bouquet of spices and herbs, especially thyme. The mouthfeel is almost all savory, like biting into a burger.
As the wine opens, the savory hints sweeten and fruit emerges. Don't miss it at the 90 minute mark, where it achieves a beautiful balance. At its peak, this is like a backyard journey through summer's fragrant bushes, ripe plums, pressed olives, and bbqs, all washed in a dusty, leathery dryness. This is my first Gonon; I'm sure there will be many more. (1750 views) | | | Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 11/18/2023 & rated 92 points: Poured next to the 2011 and a dramatic contrast to that vintage's fruit sweetness. Here the scent is pure olive juice. It's in a similar weight class but the stuffing is mostly coming from the non-fruit world. Toss it around a little bit and it bursts with an aftershock of additional flavors drawing on something mealy or wheaty. The bottle was a little controversial but this is what Gonon is all about. Albeit with the olive equalizer dial cranked way up. (3242 views) | | | Tasted by Peter Spijker on 11/11/2023 & rated 93 points: Compared to the '15 and '17 this is lighter, more open, nice olives, blackberry, some earth. Integrated tannins and good acidity; would drink this now! (2201 views) | | | Tasted by ThijsV on 11/10/2023 & rated 93 points: Gonon tasting; 11/10/2023-12/10/2023 (Utregs Wijnhuis, Utrecht, NL): This is drinking brilliantly now! Fire stone, forest floor, mushrooms, black fruit. Great balance. Medium+ acidity, medium+ tannins, long finish. (1976 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 10/27/2023: Northern Rhone Dinner (2012/2005/1998 focus) (Chez Lagragne): Single blind. The most intensely meaty florals of the flight. On the palate, I also picked up more overt meat / bacon notes with some florals. Felt the most evolved of the flight, but still a decade short of maturity. My #3/5. Guessed Jamet because of the bacony note. (2290 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 10/27/2023 & rated 93 points: (Mostly) 1998, 2005, 2012 Northern Rhône (Chicago, IL): Served single blind. Very savoury and another wine that was relatively lighter in texture. Modest, but mostly resolved tannins, with much less emphasis on the backend weight (unlike the final wine). Red-fruited and delicate; for my palate quite approachable and drinkable now. Thinking back to the 2012 Jamet I had a year and a half ago, I guessed this was the Jamet. (2656 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 8/12/2023 & rated 92 points: Same bottle as Derek. Lots of whole cluster, dark berries. Nice wine but in my eyes neither especially complex nor traditional. Personally would prefer some more restraint on the whole clusters to allow for more balance and complexity to emerge. (2305 views) | | | Tasted by wineton.mee on 8/11/2023 & rated 95 points: Two 2012s showed up telepathically at the table. One was flourishing hard - dishing out generous doses of floral violets, black olives and strawberries on the nose,while finishing off with tangy acid and powdery tannins in the mouth. This is exactly the kinda Gonon that turn heads, just so flavourful and provoking. You can’t ask for more from the bottle and vintage.
The other one was confusing. Restrained, with the fruits relatively muted and darker. If you dig a little, yes the Gonon DNA is there. Dumb phase? Not sure how much storage conditions contributed here but it should show with more oxygen. (2616 views) | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 8/11/2023 & rated 94 points: Northern Rhones at Min Jiang: Tale of two bottles.
Bottle 1: My first instinct was Gonon but got swayed by others who guessed Jamet. In any case, it was clear that this was a top producer. Silky, pure blue fruit with a distinct wild olive note. Very restrained fruit so I guessed a cooler year like ‘08. Drinking very well now.
Bottle 2: Slightly more plummy and dull, wouldn't have guessed Gonon. Got better with air but didn’t have the purity and precision of the first bottle. (2541 views) | | | Tasted by Derek Darth Taster on 8/11/2023 & rated 96 points: Northern Rhone theme dinner at Min Jiang Goodwood. Tasted blind. Drank in Grassl 1855. I brought the exact same bottle to blind! Other bottle was showing better than mine though.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of dark olives, black pepper, blackberries, roasted dark meat. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), structured yet silky high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet dark meat, black pepper, blackberries, black cherries, dark olives, whole bunch stems. Very long finish. My bottle was a little tighter on the nose, but palate more black plummy.
Overall very good quality. Love the silky feel despite the strength of the substance. Lovely classic Old World Syrah nose. Will keep my other bottle for a few more years. (2344 views) | | | Tasted by xwine on 5/19/2023: Didn't pay enough attention to it, but it was spot on. (2575 views) | | | Tasted by doctornoah on 5/8/2023 flawed bottle: River School Auction Tasting (Washington DC): Badly, sadly corked. (2854 views) | | | Tasted by diggydan on 5/6/2023 & rated 91 points: Nice wine, very meaty, savory, and olive briny. Rustic.
Did I see an offer for the 2020 vintage at $174.95???? I did, in fact, from Crush! Lol. "Special bottle price". (2386 views) | | | Tasted by jrick on 5/5/2023 flawed bottle: Corked. Not a great feeling when you have waited 9 years to drink your only second 2012. (2522 views) | | | Tasted by platpeeps on 4/28/2023 & rated 90 points: Fresh and grassy with delicious flavours of liquorice, blackberries and spice. Minerally and complex this was underpinned with fine tannins. A little lighter than the 2011 vintage but nicely poised and well balanced. CHP 90 pts (2615 views) | | | Tasted by thewineoceros on 3/2/2023 & rated 93 points: This is absolutely classic Syrah. I have loved this wine for many years and sadly it seems the world has caught up and the price has ballooned to an incredible high, making it out of reach these days. Which makes this bottle all the better. The 2012 is in a great place, all herbs, pepper, spice, olive and tapenade. Aromas and flavours are super pure and well integrated with the structure which is perfectly Balanced. Lovely finish which is a bit chewy (which I also like) and has a gentle bite that makes you want more. Refreshing and comforting at the same time. A real pleasure! (2701 views) | | | Tasted by cfk49 on 2/23/2023 & rated 94 points: Another phenomenal bottle -- intense, powerful, pure, deep, smoky, saline Syrah dark fruits, medium-weight, exquisite balance. Perfect for drinking now but will continue to hold for years. Cellared since original release. (2789 views) | | | Tasted by thewineoceros on 2/19/2023: Super pure syrah- all black pepper and spices with an olive touch. Very classy , love this 💕 (2710 views) | | | Tasted by ThijsV on 2/13/2023 & rated 92 points: Northern Rhone tasting (Utregs Wijnhuis, Utrecht, NL): Gorgeous St Joseph with a great combination of primary, secondary and tertiary aroma’s. Medium+ aroma intensity with black fruit, even some red berries, cherry, sous bois, leather, bacon, licorice, smokiness. Medium+ acidity, medium+ but finely integrated tannins, long finish. 92-93, great wine (2936 views) | | | Tasted by bjbu on 2/13/2023 & rated 92 points: Northern Rhone tasting (Utregs Wijnhuis): Intensity medium. Cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, bacon, tea, game. Acidity medium(+). Tannins medium(+). Finish long. (2998 views) | | | Tasted by dbkitc on 2/10/2023 & rated 94 points: This is really great Saint Joseph. I need to get drinking as I believe it’s a great time to consume this blackberry and herb sented wine. Rugged yet with great fruit purity. The acidy on the finish completes the picture. Very strong showing. (94) (2804 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 1/27/2023 & rated 93 points: A business lunch (Restaurant Rijks *, Amsterdam, NL): Excellent purity and precision, flowers and peach and crushed red berries, elegant and fresh, smoky and with lovely autumnal development, tight and energetic but calm and gentle, slender but generous, light but firm tannins, very good length. (3737 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Pierre Gonon Producer website
(Addt'l Info)
U.S. Importer, actually, as the producer apparently does not have an URLSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comRhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Rhone Valley The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
### Wine Scholar Guild's Rhône valley vintage charts & ratings ###Northern Rhône Guide to the wines and appellations of the Northern Rhone Valley -
The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
Regional History:
Phocaean Greeks established viticulture in the Rhone as far back as 600 BC, but until the 14th century the wines were not seen outside the region. The establishment of the Avignonese Papacy (1305-1377) brought fame to the region's wine-so much so that their Burgundian neighbors to the north banned wines from the Rhone in 1446, a measure that effectively cut off trade with England and other Northern European markets for over 200 years. Stretching southward from Lyon to just south of Avignon, the Rhone produces a wide variety of wines, with the appellations north of Valence producing the least (in volume), and the towns south of Montelimar producing prodigious amounts. As in other regions, the most interesting wines come from small farms. Saint-Joseph, in the northern Rhone, extends for some distance between Condrieu in the north to Saint-Peray in the south. The reds are made from Syrah and the rare whites from Marsanne and Roussanne, and Viognier.
### 2017 vintage ###
"The first red wines already tasted in the Northern Rhône promise a beautiful vintage, with a quality close to the 2015 or even the 2009 vintage" - NEWRHÔNE MILLESIMES |
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