2018 M. Chapoutier Saint Joseph Deschants, Rhone Valley

My money is on the 2018 Saint Joseph Deschants being an outstanding wine. It has textbook Saint Joseph notes of bright berry fruits, graphite, peppery herbs, and violets. With medium to full-bodied richness, good acidity, ripe tannins, and a great finish, it's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and drink nicely for upwards of a decade.

This was another stunning tasting with the team at Chapoutier. They’ve produced some of the wines of the vintage in both 2017 and 2018. The team here compares 2017 to 2007, which is a comparison I understand, even if I think the quality of their 2017s are a step up. Both vintages were hot and dry, and the wines have expressive, sunny profiles. I reviewed their top 2017 dry whites last year, but the 2017 reds showed spectacularly well this year, most coming in at the upper end of their barrel range. Looking at the 2018s, this is another blockbuster year at this estate and the wines reveal even deeper purple (almost blue) hues compared their 2017 counterparts as well as a touch more freshness in their aromatics reminiscent of a cooler vintage. Nevertheless, these are big, rich, concentrated wines that have building tannins and structure as well as loads of fruit, and are built for the cellar. One of the beauties of the 2018s is that the wines have a wonderful sense of freshness and purity reminiscent of a cooler year, yet paired with the fruit, depth, and richness of a warmer year. Lastly, the lineup here seems to grow each year and at present, includes two sparkling wines, three Saint-Péray, two Condrieu, two Cornas, four Côte Rôtie, six Crozes Hermitage, nine Hermitage, and six Saint Joseph. Also, there are a handful of Vin de France and IGP releases. The top “Sélections Parcellaires” cuvées range from 300 to 1,000 cases, and while they can be frightfully expensive, they’re among the greatest wines in the world. However, don’t overlook the value releases from Chapoutier, where you get serious bang for the buck.

90-92 points jebdunnuck.com

The nose offers concentration, elegant as well as a finely tight grain. It reveals notes of violet, lily, small wild berries, small notes of raspberry associated with touches of cherry, cassis, plum flowers/iris, fine hints of tobacco, spices as well as a discreet hint of clove and local grove. The palate is fruity, racy and offers suavity, freshness, a certain gourmandize, a mineral frame, a flowery side as well as a good definition/control. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fresh/juicy cherry, fresh raspberry, small notes of juicy/fresh cassis associated with touches of varietal, cherry blossom, zan, black olive, hints of local garrigue/sense of the place, a racy minerality as well as fine hints of clove and discreet hints of mocha. Tannins are well built and racy. Good length.

91-92 points vertdevin