Saint Joseph Rouge, Domaine de L'Iserand (J-F Malsert) 2017

Saturated magenta. Smoke-accented black/blue fruits, pipe tobacco, violet and a strong black pepper note on the fragrant nose. Juicy and appealingly sweet, offering supple cassis and boysenberry flavors that turn spicier on the back half. Highly accessible and fruit-driven, with just a trace of supple tannins on the nicely persistent finish. This wine is made from young vines on Malsert's 1.5 hectare Domaine de l'Iserand estate and augmented by some purchased fruit. (fermented in neutral demi-muidsand amphoras and raised in neutral demi-muids). Drink between 2021-2026.

The regular bottling of Saint-Joseph from Jean-François Malsert is composed of his younger vine fruit from his organically-farmed 1.5 hectares of vines, complemented by some purchased fruit grown by friends in the appellation. The wine is made without added SO2 and raised in older demi-muids and amphora. The 2017 version is very good, offering up plenty of depth in its aromatic constellation of cassis, black olives, smoked meats, dark soil tones, smoke and a hint of medicinal syrah topnotes. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured, with a good core, fine soil signature, a nice chassis of chewy tannins and impressive length and grip on the vibrant finish. This is good juice that is quite drinkable today, but will be even better once the tannins have a chance to relax a bit more. Drink between 2019-2030