2009 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (8/18/2020)
Someone on CellarTracker said this was headed downhill. They have zero idea what they are talking about, or their bottle was damaged. This wine is just starting to reach what good Northern Rhône Syrah is supposed to be. It’s still a bit stern/clenched on the palate, but the aromatics have begun to soar. Floral, roasted meat, warm tar, olives, smoke, it’s all there, along with deep red fruit that is flecked with iron. It’s firm on the palate, almost to the point of austerity, but then, on the finish, it fans out like the proverbial peacock tail, and all the complexity of the aromatics are repeated, like the chorus of a favorite song, repeated and repeated as it fades away. Mesmerizing.