($53, Kermit Lynch): Wow.  You don’t normally expect this kind of power and finesse from a wine from St. Joseph.  But some producers are now demonstrating that St. Joseph can be a locale for great wines.  Though it’s a long narrow appellation on the west bank of the Rhône, a portion of it at its southern end sits directly across from Hermitage and indeed, the granite rock in which the vines are planted is identical to the soil across the river.   Over the millennia, the Rhône cut this piece of granite into two, leaving a large chunk of either side of the river.   Gonon’s 2012 St. Joseph has a Hermitage-like meatiness complemented by just the right amount of spice.  Underlying minerality comes through so this is by no means a fruit-bomb.  A big wine to be sure, it’s polished enough to allow you to enjoy it now with a long-simmered beef dish.  Its balance and finesse suggests that you will be rewarded by cellaring it — that is, if you can resist its charms now.
95 Michael Apstein Nov 10, 2015