2020 Maxime Graillot Equis Saint-Joseph Rouge, Northern Rhone

The bouquet has an oily intensity, is well together, centres on smoky blue fruit, delves in and carries mystery for now. The palate links closely, via an immediate run of shapely black fruited content, a little local rockiness well etched into it, with a flourish of fruit on the finish. It’s a vivid and genuine St Jo, plenty of bounce and character, rocks really well. It’s moving into shape – from late-2024.

John Livingstone Learmonth Drink Rhône

Flavors of fresh blueberries and blackberries are accented by notes of fresh cracked black pepper. This is a sumptuous and sensuous Syrah.

This is drawn from two parcels on the steep, granitic slopes of Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, the historic heart of Saint-Joseph that lies opposite the hill of Hermitage. Three-quarters of the blend comes from 1980s planted Syrah, while the remainder of the vines were planted in the 1950s. Both parcels are organically farmed without herbicides by the Desbos family, and both lie on steep gradients that necessitate work by hand and horse only. 
 
In the cellar, the winemakers work with around 20 to 30% whole bunches, and the wine matures for one year in used ex-Burgundy 228-litre oak casks for 11 months, followed by six months in tronconique. Bottled unfiltered, it’s a layered, deep, rocky style of St-Jo, with taut red and blue fruits complemented by crushed stone, dried dark flowers and iron filing nuances.

There are few names as revered in the Northern Rhône as the name Graillot. It was in 1985 that the legendary Alain Graillot came back to his home in Crozes-Hermitage to start his own domaine. With each passing year, his devotion to the art of making hauntingly delicious Syrah has been rewarded with an ever growing and highly dedicated following around the world. And so it would seem quite the daunting task for the child of such a luminary to follow in the footsteps of such a giant.

Luckily for us and the wine world, Alain’s eldest son Maxime Graillot not only continued the legacy started by his father, he also blazed his own trail in winemaking excellence.

Maxime trained under his father from a young age and in 2004 decided to split his time between his father’s domaine and establishing his own namesake winery. Knowing where the best land in the Rhône was to be found, he purchased parcels adjacent to those of Domaine Alain Graillot, alongside parcels in the heart of the original Saint-Joseph and Cornas. He converted the previously conventionally farmed vineyards to organics, making sure to soils were constantly ploughed (allowing the roots to dig deep into the gravel) and banned the use of herbicides.

The results were incredible from the start. Compared to Alain’s wines, Maxime’s are similarly exuberant and expressive, but perhaps with a bit more fruit power behind them – possibly a result of Maxime using less whole cluster (around 30% compared to 100% at Domaine Alain Graillot). They possess an effortless grace and charm that has become a staple of the Graillot style. Any lover of Northern Rhône wines owe it to themselves to pop a bottle, and be enveloped in the warm embrace of pure Syrah bliss.