2011 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.

Like a number of his neighbors, Pierre Gonon compares the 2011 vintage with 2006, but he says that "the wines acted more like the 2007s at first, with a lot of fruit but seemingly a lack of structure."That has changed since the wines went into bottle, he went on, and "they actually look like they'll be good to hold onto through about their tenth birthday because tannins have come out that we didn't expect."The Gonon brothers' wines are built to reward patience, regardless of vintage, as recent bottles of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 have proven recently here in New York. Gonon pulled out a couple of even older wines to have a look at their progress and both were showing extremely well:a 2003 Saint-Joseph conveyed the depth and power of that hot vintage but betrayed no roasted character or alcoholic burn.Its tannins seem to be fully absorbed and I'd opt for drinking it over the next few years.The 1996 Saint-Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers displayed a wild array of honeyed orchard and pit fruit qualities, with almost shockingly fresh acidity providing lift and spine.It's aging at a snail's pace, much like a topnotch white Hermitage, and while it's delicious now it should continue to cruise along for years to come, assuming good storage.

According to Pierre Gonon, "the white wines in 2011 have good richness and structure, and are actually a bit like the 2005s.They're lighter and brighter than the 2010s, with more delicacy and feminine character."He calls 2010 for red wines "a trong, intensely mineral vintage that combines power and energy.It operates at both the high and the low end of the scale in flavor."The Gonon brothers, who use a lot of whole clusters, often as high as 100%, prefer to bottle their wines after roughly 12 months in barrels, followed by a rest of up to 3 months in tanks "for better harmony."Pierre said that he thinks that the 2009s are starting to look a bit like the 2003s in terms of richness "but with more brightness and red fruit and no roasted character, which is the potential weak spot of '03."We talked a bit about the geology of the southern sector of Saint-Joseph and Gonon said that the soil of their hillside vineyard in Tournon, which they rent from the legendary Raymond Trollat, "is a softer granite and gives more elegance than the denser soils of Mauves, which provides structure."At the end of our tasting we tried Gonon's 2008 and 2009 Saint-Josephs, which were a study in contrasts, with the older wine showing appealing aromatic complexity and bright red fruit character and the 2009 offering far more depth but even more vivacity.I'd drink the '08 over the next five years or so and wait at least that long before digging into my '09s.(Chambers St. Wines, www.chambersstwines.com; Joli Vin, www.jolivin.com; Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, www.kermitlynch.com)