Maison Les Alexandrins, a signature modern in approach and contemporary in style. The aim with our Saint-Joseph is to combine a mineral note, characteristic of wines from the Rhône Valley, with a fruity note, typical of the Saint-Joseph appellation. A unique blend, producing a refined wine with powerful tannins.
Presentation
Description
A partnership between two winegrowers from the Rhône Valley – Nicolas Jaboulet and Alexandre Caso – Maison les Alexandrins produces northern wines in a style at once contemporary and timeless, always from exceptional vineyards unearthed by Alexandre Caso, a specialist in the terroirs of the northern Rhône Valley. Classics with a twist, these wines and how they are aged and blended are guided by the quest for perfect harmony from a very young age. Our vines are located in Saint Jean de Muzols and Tournon.
Terroir
The Saint-Joseph vines wind along the Rhône. They are planted on slopes covered in granite (decomposed in parts) facing east/south-east.
The vintage
After a particularly hot and dry summer, the harvest began on August 17th with a perfectly ripe crop of white grapes, early enough to preserve all their freshness and natural balance. The reds followed, benefiting from a few saving rains that gave them more refinement. We favored infusion over extraction on our Crozes-Hermitage and our Brézème, preserving the crunchiness of the Syrah and the very delicate fruit of the vintage. In the cellar, the punching down and pumping for the 3 weeks of maceration released power and character for our Cornas, Saint Joseph and Hermitage. After devatting, a long aging will allow the wines to develop their aromatics, refine their tannins and gain in amplitude. The balance is already beautiful with controlled degrees and a lot of depth.
Location
The Saint-Joseph vineyard stretches 40 km along the right bank of the Rhône on the 45th parallel, planted on steep slopes that were first terraced in Roman times. Once called “Vin de Mauves”, Jesuits in the 17th century gave it its current name. It achieved AOC status in 1956. At that time, it spilled into six villages (90 hectares). It was restructured in 1994 and now embraces 26 villages, covering an area of 1,330 hectares. The vineyard winds from Chavanay to Guilherand, connecting Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie in the north with Saint-Péray and Cornas in the south. Nowadays, the appellation is known for its red wines made from Syrah – simultaneously powerful and elegant – and, on a smaller scale, for its whites made from Roussanne and/or Marsanne grapes.
Process
This wine is produced each year upholding a style in which the granite terroir that brings mineral notes has to blend with the classic black fruit notes of the Saint-Joseph appellation.
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing in conical vats for 12 months.
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing in conical vats for 12 months.
Varietal
Syrah : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : 13 % vol.
Contains sulphites.
Ingredients & nutrition ›
Advice
Tasting
Beautiful deep red, almost black colour, with shiny ruby reflections. This wine opens with a superb complex nose with aromas of black fruit, pepper and spices, characteristic of this granite terroir. Elegant and powerful on the palate, it offers peppery and black fruit notes, very persistent, precise and delicate tannins, perfectly integrated by the barrel aging. The finish is long with mineral freshness. A wine of character, both powerful and digestible, a magnificent expression of Syrah.
Food pairings
This wine will pair perfectly with grilled meat or in a sauce.
Serving
Serve at 17°C. Drink within 3 years.
