Domaine Pierre Gaillard, St. Joseph (blanc) 2020

Appellation: St. Joseph

Region: Northern Rhône

Country: France

Color: White

Varietal(s): Roussanne

About The Producer

Pierre Gaillard is one of the most respected vignerons in the Northern Rhône. He toiled alongside Guigal in the '80s to create Guigal's La Turque, which is a benchmark vineyard in Côte Rôie with bottles going for hundreds of dollars apiece. In 1981 Gaillard scraped together enough money to buy his first parcel of land in the St Joseph appellation, Le Clos de Cuminaille, located in the village of Chavanay. By 1987 he centered his business in the medieval town of Malleval. Never one to settle, he continues to tease the best from this demanding region.

Terroir & Vineyard Practices:

The fruit comes from 2.3 ha of vines in the fine granite soils of Malleval and Chavannay. The grapes are hand-harvested when fully-ripened.

Tasting Notes

Gaillard's St. Joseph Blanc is intensely fresh, complex and aromatic. For this wine, Gaillard uses 100% Roussanne - there is no Marsanne in this blend - a grape with a highly aromatic nose of fresh flowers, perched, herbs, and nuts. This pairs beautifully with fishes and seafood and as it ages it develops a silky, exotic texture.

Vinification

Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrels. Aged 7-8 months in fine oak barrels (5% new) with weekly stirring of the lees.

Press

  • 93 points - Wine Advocate: "The orange-scented, truffled, honey-laden 2018 Saint Joseph Blanc has that "it" factor. Full-bodied, rich and silky, it's harmonious and exotic, with ample concentration and length. It should provide delicious drinking over the next few years, perhaps longer. Drink 2019 - 2023."- Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate