Delas Freres Sainte Epine St Joseph 2015

Producer Information

Founded 160 years ago in the heart of the northern Côtes du Rhône, Delas Freres today crafts world class wines from both northern and southern Rhône.

Tending the steep sloping vineyards, which total some 30 hectares of vines, the team adapt their growing practices to each plot of vines to let the terroir of the Rhône shine through in the wines.

Crafted by winemaker Jacques Grange (who is originally from Burgundy), the wines from Delas Freres epitomise finesse and elegance. Recent vintages from the vineyards of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Côte Rôtie, Condrieu, Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Ventoux have bee lauded in the press for their intensity of flavour and excellent value.

Vineyards

The soils consist of light schist and gneiss over a granite bedrock and the climate is moderately continental, with hot and dry summers, and normal rainfall the rest of the year.

Winemaking

The “Sainte-Epine” grapes are harvested by hand, at optimum ripeness. Fermentation takes place in traditional, open-topped concrete tanks, after 3 days pre-fermentary skin contact at cool temperatures. Maceration continues at controlled temperatures of 82°F to 86°F (28°C to 30°C). Daily cap pushing down and pumping over are carried out for about 10 days, with a total maceration period of up to 20 days.

Vintage Information

2015 was a very early vintage. Nevertheless, night time temperatures were low over the weeks leading up to the harvest and the end of the ripening period was quite slow.

Thanks to the dry soils, the vineyards were not affected by the heavy rainfall on the weekend of the 12th of September. The grapes from the low-lying vineyards were more fragile and had already been picked before the rainy spell.

The 2015 vintage is reminiscent of great years such as 1989, 1990 and more recently the 2009 vintage, but with more elegance.

Tasting Note

The wine has a deep ruby colour with purple tinges. Its nose shows aromas of blackberries and spices, lifted by some mineral and gently wooded notes. Well concentrated, this wine has pure flavours that come to the palate in successive layers of varying aromas, all of equal intensity.

Food Pairing

Game, marinated beef, grills, green peppers. It goes well with all types of cheese.

Press

Robert Parker: 94 POINTS

A stellar effort. It shows great concentration, pouring across the palate in a single jolt of dark fruit, expanding and intensifying on the powerful finish. Black cherries and plums carry hints of molten rock, charcoal and other inorganic complexities, which are brightened by crisp acids and buffered by firm tannins.

Saint-Joseph AOC
100% Syrah
Cork
Yes
Yes

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