2019 Saint-Joseph

The wines of brothers Jean and Pierre Gonon continue to be a benchmark for the entire Saint-Joseph appellation. Spanning roughly 11 hectares of vineyards in Saint-Joseph and some Vin de Pays de l’Ardèche, all vines are farmed organically. Readers unfamiliar with this domaine might not know that apart from Syrah, Marsanne and Roussanne, the Gonons also vinify tiny amounts of Chasselas. “We took over these vineyards from Raymond Trollat in 2011,” Pierre Gonon explained. “The vines are planted in a very warm, well-exposed location, and until the 1980s, the grapes were actually sold as table grapes. At one point back in time, Raymond Trollat started to make two Chasselas-Marsanne blends, one from younger vines with a majority of Marsanne and another from older vines with more Chasselas. When handing both wines out for tasting, people generally preferred the latter. When we took over these vineyards, we opted to keep the vines and make a single-varietal Chasselas. Today, the vines are quite old, around 80 years on average, and yields are really small. In 2021, for example, we only made 600 bottles.” In that context, it was a privilege to taste the 2021 Chasselas, a delightful white with lifting energy and excellent freshness. When talking about the 2021 vintage in general, Pierre Gonon recalled, “The year started with a dry spring and a bit of frost in April. Then the rain came. Although there were some dry patches between the rains, the amount of water each time was just massive. There were periods in June where we received three times 20 millimeters - in a single week! As this meant a lot of moisture in the air, rot pressure was high throughout the year. Sorting needed to be rigorous and almost fully took place in the vineyards, which really slowed us down. In some plots, we literally gave up and cut everything down. It's the first time since my brother and I have been working together that we actually left behind completely unharvested grapes. What little did make the selection was harvested by the last week of September. I remember my brother and I eating soup with potted meat and mussels while outside, the heavy rains continued. We both were a bit down because we knew that we didn't bring in all the grapes when we knew there were still some outside. But it was over, and it was for the best that we stopped.” In 2021, roughly half of the grapes were destemmed, which is much more compared to 2022, when the Gonons worked with roughly 85% whole clusters during fermentation. In comparison to that, 100% of whole clusters were used in 2017 and 90% in 2020. Tasting the 2021s revealed that the rigorous sorting paid off, with both the white and red Saint-Joseph performing well. When asking Pierre Gonon whether there would be a Saint-Joseph Vieilles Vignes in 2021, he confirmed that they won't make it. I wouldn’t place the promising whites of 2022 above those from 2021. The reds in 2022 clearly have the edge. That being said, Pierre Gonon was not yet sure at the time of our meeting whether they would bottle a Saint-Joseph Vieilles Vignes in 2022. While tasting through the wines with Pierre Gonon, his brother Jean was busy dealing with UK visitors. The chemistry between the two brothers works well, prompting my interest in delving deeper into their collaboration. “We both work in the vineyard and cellar. But while my brother, Jean, really enjoys engaging with clients, I love to take care of everything cellar-related, everything that is solitary work, treatment and equipment. I also enjoy engaging in long-term projects, such as planting and construction. Every morning, my brother and I talk before our teams arrive. We discuss what we're going to do, how we do this, how we do that. Once we've decided on something, we don't need to talk anymore; we look at each other, and there’s an understanding.” Overall exports of the Gonon wines remain at roughly 50%, with the UK taking the lion's share, followed by the US.

The demand for the Gonon brothers’ Saint-Joseph continues to rise, as does the price, predictably. As with other producers whose wines now trade for nosebleed amounts, this is no fault of the domaine, but squarely on a market that focuses on and obsesses over a handful of producers per appellation. Readers know who they are. Having said that, and at the risk of fanning the flames, this has become not just a benchmark estate for Saint-Joseph, but for the entire Rhône valley. Their colleagues and neighbors highly regard Pierre and Jean Gonon for the meticulous farming of their vineyards, which now span 10 hectares and include a significant number of old vines. All whole clusters are used here, and the wines are raised in used oak barrels, many of them extremely old and unquestionably neutral.

Jean Gonon said that “while 2019 was just as hot as 2018, the wines look to have more vibrancy and detail because the tannins and acidity are working really well together.” He referenced the 2015 vintage in relation to 2019, noting that “maybe if you were able to mix some 2016 into the 2015 you’d achieve something like 2019 because there’s great structure but not hardness.” He suspects that the 2019s won’t have as long a life as the 2015s, “but they won’t require as much patience, either.”