52 St-Joseph Rouge AC 2009
Bernard Gripa

Grape:100% Syrah (13% alc.)

The Gripas have a wonderfully sensitive touch with their wines and their red St-Joseph generally opens up a little before that of Gonon. Their 2007 has an elegant framework, with black cherry fruit, spice and an irony relief on the palate. It is supple and accessible in its youth, rather along the lines of the 2004 though with more concentration. For drinking now to 2015.

* Half bottles are available

Technical Information
Winemaker:	Fabrice & Bernard Gripa
Location:	Mauves
Size of domaine:	11 hectares (25-30,000 bts of red produced). 7-8,000 vines per hectare; massale & clonale, 3309 rootstock.
Grape:	100% Syrah. Age of vines average 35-40 yrs.
Terroir:	Between Tournon and Mauves – 15-20 parcels – 85% on terrasses; decomposed granite top soil on granite bedrock.
Viticulture:	Yield – 30 hectos per hectare. Hand-harvest. Vendange en verts in some places
Vinification:	Don’t believe in maceration à froid. 98% destalk, no artifical yeasts. Use Drapeaux to control temperature. Foot tread in open wooden vats once a day plus one remontage during a 3 week cuvaison. Press wine blended in July. Batonnage tried but not convinced. Uses a mix of 50% 600 ltr demi-muids (1-10 yr old) and 50% 225 ltr barrels (1-7 years old). Uses 3 tonneliers and medium toast. Racked twice (sometimes 3 times). Fining/filtration - blanc d’oeuf + light filtration. Aug1st bottling, mid November 2nd bottling.
Press:

 

qty (bottles)

exc vat: £19.58