E. Guigal St. Joseph Vignes l’Hospice 2019 750ml

Coming from an incredible vineyard located just above the village of Tournon (which Marcel states matter of factly is the best terroir in the appellation), the 2019 Saint Joseph Vignes De L’Hospice reveals a deeper purple hue as well as an Hermitage-like style in both its aromatics as well as its structure. This makes sense, as the soils are basically identical. Blueberries, blackberries, burning embers, leather, and violets are just some of its nuances, and it’s full-bodied on the palate, with a deep, concentrated mid-palate, wonderful tannins, and a great finish. Where the other Saint-Josephs show the ripe, sunny style of the vintage, this, as always, remains much more cool-climate like, focused, and almost austere. Aged 30 months in new barrels, it’s a candidate for the wine of the vintage and will have 30 years of longevity.

• Country: France
• Region: Rhone Valley
• Appellation: Saint Joseph
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red
• Alcohol by Vol: 14.5%

Varietal

Red Rhone Blend

The Rhone region of France has been producing superb quality white blended wines for centuries, and is a region highly respected and esteemed around the world, with plenty of New World countries keen to emulate the styles and techniques displayed by the historic wineries and skilled vintners of the area. The secret to the Rhone’s success when it comes to blended white wines is the careful and expert selection of certain grape varietals, which each lend special features to the blended wine and bring balance and harmony to the bottle. Most commonly, blended white Rhone wines feature no more than two grapes of either the Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne or Grenache Blanc varietals, and are renowned for their exceptional flavors and highly aromatic, floral character.