Saint Joseph White 2020

Saint Joseph Blanc 2020,

Thierry Alexandre

Saint-Joseph Blanc is a wine to discover for its remarkable balance between richness and freshness, a hallmark of white wines from the Upper Rhône Valley. This is a truly delicious wine, which possesses the clarity and roundness of its appellation. Its lightly toasted and smoky notes, this invasion of peach and ripe apple, will initially captivate you. Then, on the palate, sweetness and freshness will further demonstrate the beauty and solidity of this fine and complex wine, balanced between the richness of its fruit, its freshness, and its soft, satiny texture. The finish features balsamic notes of spices and lavender. This beautiful wine is made from old Marsanne and Viognier vines, planted around 1960, cultivated biodynamically on loess, decomposed granite, and gneiss soils in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, on the banks of the Ardèche near its mouth. The southeast-facing lieu-dit, near Sainte-Épine, is one of the best in the appellation. The harvest is entirely manual, followed by a passage in a cold room before pressing, and no inputs are used in the vineyard or the cellar. The wine is produced by direct pressing and goes into old barrels where it ferments on natural yeasts for two months. It is then racked and returned to barrels for a year of aging. Warning: very small production, make the most of it!

To find out more
Thierry Alexandre produces little (two hectares in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, in Ardèche, and a few vines north of Crozes-Hermitage), but he produces well and carefully, entirely biodynamically and without additives in the vineyard or cellar. His bottles are in the Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage blanc and Vin de France appellations. The grape varieties are typical of this northern part of the Rhône Valley: Marsanne, Roussanne, Syrah, Viognier. The estate lies on quite varied soils, mainly decomposed granite, as well as gneiss, sandy clay and loess. He practices semicarbonic fermentation in whole bunches for fairly long periods and aging, depending on the vintage, in stainless steel or old barrels. His wines are as rare and sought-after as the winemaker is humble and discreet, but there is nothing haughty or inaccessible about them: pleasant, warm, fluid and well balanced between fruit and mineral, they are wines for pleasure that should be reserved for the most friendly gatherings.