2018 Saint-Joseph

André Perret and his daughter, Marie, took me through their 2019s and 2018s and told me that “2018 gave good freshness and spicy character to the wines, and while alcohol levels are on the high side, historically, they aren’t crazy.” The wines have solid underlying structure and will age well, they think, “without being so solid that they require a lot of patience, like 2015.” The same can be said for the 2019s, the Perrets said, but André Perret added that “they have even more fruit expression, and you could sense it immediately, right when the grapes came off the vines.”

While the jocular but humble André Perret is deservedly well-known for his outstanding Condrieus, which I believe are among the very best iterations of the appellation, his work with red wines, all from vines in his home village of Chavanay, is also at an extremely high level. The latest releases are all worthy of consideration, but some searching will be required, as the small production is spread thinly around the world. The Les Grisières bottling, which is made with whole clusters, often rivals some top producers' Côte-Rôties for sheer complexity, energy and balance, even in hot vintages like 2017. (The 2018 and 2019 versions of that wine, which are still in barrel, are superb, by the way.) Speaking of Côte-Rôtie, in the 2018 vintage Perret has finally made one – four barrels of it, with fruit that he bought from a small, highly regarded, old-school domaine in Ampuis (he'd probably tell you who it is in person, but I don't feel free to disclose it) and mostly from the Côte-Blonde. Tasted from barrel, it's extremely impressive, showing noteworthy balance, focus and energy. Perret has been joined at the domaine by his daughter, Marie, who recently completed her university studies in Lyon. We tasted through this set of wines, along with the 2018s and 2019s that are still in barrel, together, and he was clearly thrilled to be working with her.