Saint-Joseph Sainte-Epine Delas Frères 2004

Lot presentation

Saint-Joseph Sainte-Epine Delas Frères 2004

The wine

Intense and deep, Saint-Joseph Sainte-Epine is one of the jewels of the Maison. From two south-facing parcels, this cuvée comes from the best terroirs of Saint-Joseph, those really close to the granitic part of l’Hermitage. They are located in a locality called Sainte-Épine, a hillside of Saint-Jean de Muzols located at the heart of the appellation. This wine, made only in the best years, is perfect for keeping and for being made in this manner. Concentrated and fleshy, it benefits from slow barrel fermentation and ageing in 14-month old Burgundy pièces (whereby, on average, over half are new barrels), which are regularly topped up. Very powerful on the palate, we find elements of granite, this mineral basis that enhances the fruity notes (blackberry, blueberry) but also of liquorice and spices (black pepper).

Founded in 1835, Maison Delas Frères is a part of a very exclusive circle of the finest producers in the Rhône Valley in terms of both quality and variety of appellations. The domaine was bought by Champagne Deutz in 1977 and then by Maison Roederer in 1993 but the spirit of the wines remains unchanged and faithful to their terroir. In 1996 Fabrice Rosset (Champagne Deutz) was appointed to manage the domaine and soon realised the great potential of the vineyard. He hired Jacques Grange, a young oenologue who had already proved his worth at some of the finest Rhône domaines. Thanks to him, the quality of wines at Delas has improved hugely and the domaine has invested accordingly: the winery has been entirely refurbished and 7,000 feet of vines have been replanted. It spans over 30 hectares of which 10 are in Hermitage, 18 in Crozes-Hermitage and 2 in Saint-Joseph. Delas Frères is also a negoçiant and offers wines from other appellations, such as Cornas, Côte-Rôtie et Condrieu.