Gilles Flacher Les Reines AOC Saint Joseph, 2018

Gilles Flacher has eight hectares in seven distinct parcels in Saint-Joseph and Condrieu. Each one is tended to, harvested and vinified separately. The slopes of Saint-Joseph are so steep that Gilles has no choice but to plough and hoe his vineyards manually. Syrah grapes for Les Reines come from twenty-year-old Syrah vines planted on granite soils. Gilles’s 2018 has aromas of toasty spice, black olive, incense, oregano with a meaty character. Tight and concentrated with a firm acidity, it is quite austere for the time being and will benefit from some cellaring. Some subtle floral lavender and plum flavours emerge. Tannic with a fine texture, it should metamorphose into a truly special wine. After picking, grapes were destemmed and underwent a cold maceration followed by fermentation and 23 days on skins. It was matured in barrel for 12 months with 30% new.