Pierre Gonon, Saint-Joseph Rouge
Gonon Saint-Joseph is a blue-chip “collectible,” plain and simple, but we typically do not receive enough to feature it in one of our Daily Offers. Richly concentrated, profoundly mineral Syrah from steep, granite-rich terraces—choice Saint-Joseph vineyards directly across the Rhône River from Hermitage—are the Gonon calling card: lots of black and blue fruits, roasted meat, black pepper, black olives and purple flowers jump from the glass, in a wine structured to age 10-20 years with ease. The Gonon brothers farm 9 hectares of vines without the use of any chemicals or fertilizers. The grapes are partially de-stemmed and fermented in large open vats then pressed into a mixture of large, used barrels for 14-16 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is one of the undisputed benchmarks of Northern Rhône Syrah, a staple of top restaurant wine lists and collector cellars.