Jancis Robinson 18/20

Cask sample. Deep cooper colour. Not star bright. A very distinctive look. A divisive wine. Technicians might reject it while naturophiles would admire it. Honey and cooking apples on the nose. Tastes as though there was some skin contact and there is still a little residual sugar and there is masses of chew. Very exciting and distinctive wine. Seems to have been made from very ripe oaked Marsanne. One of those wines in which astringency does the job of acidity. (JR)

Parker

 Wine Advocate
RP (89-92)

Reviewed by:
    Jeb Dunnuck

Release Price:
NA

Drink Date:
    2015 - 2021

Tasted out of barrel, the 2014 Saint Péray Fleur de Crussol is the top white of the estate and checks in as 100% Marsanne that’s brought up all in barrel, with plenty of lees contact. It offers lots of golden fruits, buttered lemon, dried herbs and a kiss of minerality to go with a medium-bodied, nicely balanced, textured style on the palate. I was able to taste this twice, in a larger appellation tasting and then during my visit at the domaine, and in both cases, the lees component really stood out. Nevertheless, I suspect it will come together nicely once in bottle and have 5-6 years of longevity.

This is another terrific lineup from Albéric Mazoyer and Alain Voge, and this estate continues to make a number of sensational Cornas, and more and more, a bevy of top Saint Pérays. The three Cornas releases include the les Chailles, the Vieilles Vignes and the flagship Vieilles Fontaines. The les Chailles comes all from the same named lieu-dit and includes some of the younger vines of the estate. It’s aged mostly in two- to five-year-old barrels. The Vieilles Vignes release comes from a selection of old vines (eight to nine different parcels) and is aged for roughly 20 months in 15% new French oak. Lastly, the flagship release is the Les Vieilles Fontaines, which is only made in top vintages (it was not made in 2013 or 2014). It comes from the Vieilles Fontaines lieu-dit, the oldest vines of the estate, and spends 24 months in 25% new French oak. As I’ve said before, the style here seems slightly modern, but this is due more to purity of fruit than oak elevage, as even the top cuvee only sees 25% new oak. In addition, they continue to move to larger and larger formats for aging. As to the vintages reviewed here, the 2013s have a classic feel and show the fresher, prettier style of the vintage, yet back it up with the fruit, texture and purity that’s the hallmark of this estate. The 2014s look to be at a similar level of quality, yet should be more approachable in their youth.