Description
Domaine des Pierres Séches (Sylvain Gauthier), Saint-Joseph Rouge
Looking back at our Northern Rhône offers over the last few years, I believe we’ve featured every wine Sylvain Gauthier makes. It all started in 2018, when the SommSelect crew tasted with Gauthier at his tiny cellar in Cheminas, right near the small cluster of villages that comprise the historic heart of the Saint-Joseph appellation. As he “thieved” wine from barrels and described where his vineyards were located, we knew we were with someone who was on the brink of superstardom.
Gauthier’s Domaine des Pierres Séches was only founded in 2007, but this is a young estate, and winemaker, with an old soul: The name of the domaine is an homage to the old, hand-built stone terraces (pierres séches = dry stones) that are strung across many of Saint-Joseph’s most steeply pitched vineyards, and Gauthier’s meticulously chosen 5.5 hectares include not just a parcel on the famed “Saint-Épine” hillside (in St. Jean de Muzols) but other choice sites throughout the historic southern end of Saint-Joseph. The wines are beautifully polished expressions of Saint-Joseph Syrah, usually exhibiting Hermitage-levels of concentration, and today’s 2018 is true to form: You’d be forgiven for mistaking it for Hermitage, and for expecting to pay much more, because this is some seriously slick and sumptuous Syrah. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t hesitate to put it up against some of the most hallowed labels in the region, so whether this is your first encounter with Gauthier or merely your latest, don’t miss the chance to grab some.
As Northern Rhône wine lovers know, the “original” boundaries of the Saint-Joseph appellation included six communes on the west bank of the Rhône, right across the way from the legendary Hermitage hill: Glun, Lemps, Mauves, St. Jean de Muzols, Tournon, and Vion, all of which have similar decomposed granite soils to those of Hermitage right across the river. Gauthier shrewdly zeroed in on this area when he began acquiring old-vine parcels for his domaine, even managing to land a choice spot on the Saint-Épine hill that was once farmed by retired Saint-Joseph eminence Raymond Trollat. Originally from Lorraine, in Alsace, where his family had vineyards, Sylvain studied winemaking in Beaune, in Burgundy, and worked under Rhône Valley eminences Michel Chapoutier and Stéphane Robert before striking out on his own.
Although not yet certified, Sylvain is farming organically and doing everything the old-fashioned way in the cellar, and his focused, hands-on approach is immediately recognizable in his wines: As noted above, the wines are very clean, polished, and deeply extracted, but they have palpable “soul” as well. As someone who’s been trained to recognize and celebrate regional wine “benchmarks,” I say this without hesitation: I put my nose in a glass of this wine and there’s nowhere I could possibly be but the heart of the Northern Rhône.
Sourced from old-vine parcels (10-50 years) in the communes of Sarras, Vion, and Arras-Sur-Rhône, this ’18 was mostly destemmed (90%) before fermentation in stainless steel using ambient yeast. It was aged only in used French oak barrels and bottled with minimal sulfur, but as always, flawlessness and varietal purity are the calling cards. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby-black with purple reflections, with lots of saturated fruit aromas jumping out first: crushed black raspberry, purple plums, and goji berry meet up with a savory wave of minerals, licorice, baking spices, pepper, soy, and crushed stones. It is medium-plus in body, with a good amount of extract softening the bite of the tannins, but between its grip and its freshness, there’s plenty of structure for aging. It should go 10-15 years with ease, while also providing delicious drinking now if given ample air beforehand: Decant it a good hour before service at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems and pair it with something rustic and hearty. This is the real deal. Enjoy!
