2008 Domaine Barou St. Joseph
Had no idea it's still possible to get elegant, traditional Northern Rhone Syrah under 20 bucks! Gonon (and occasionally Graillot) are about as inexpensive as it gets among classical N. Rhones, so I was quite intrigued when I was pointed in this wine's direction at CSW yesterday. Opened with dinner and makes a great impression straight away; this is incredibly fragrant with a lovely scent of red fruits and plums framed by violets and really vivid, just-ground black pepper. It's medium weight in the mouth with a sense of real purity and freshness to the fruit, bright acids and gentle tannins and finishes leaving saline and faint meaty notes on the back end. Really delicious Syrah that I will be buying more of, especially at $19.
Will also add that there were a few bottles open for tasting from Polaner Selections' US portfolio when I dropped in at the store. Wasn't a big fan of the 2009 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau and found the 2009 Wind Gap Trousseau Gris a bit boring, but there were a couple of other intriguing wines. The 2009 Arnot-Roberts Campagni-Portis (field blend of 14 varieties) had pretty floral and citrussy Riesling-like aromatics, but a palate very reminiscent of Semillon - chalky, slightly waxy and nutty with rich white fruit. Liked the 2008 Wind Gap Chalk Hill Windsor Oaks Pinot Gris, which is their orange wine - light amber in colour with interesting herbal and wax-tinged pear and orange fruit flavours, nice richness and depth with some tannic grip on the back end, but didn't like it enough to leave the store with a bottle.