Paul Jaboulet Aine, Domaine de la Croix des Vignes, Saint Joseph, Rhône, 2010

Tasting: Saint Joseph 2010

Oaky sour plum nose, but vibrant and not green. Medium-bodied, limpid, not the ripest of styles, but has freshness and clarity. On the borderline of greenness, with light tannins and moderate acidity. Doesn’t quite deliver on the finish, and fades. Medium length.

Tasting: Saint Joseph 2010

The wine has a dense colour and modern, quite expensive aromas, dominated by creamy blackberry and palma violet. The palate is concentrated, quite four-square at the moment, with hints of sousbois and leather adding perspective to the ripe fruit core. Acidity is prevalent here, deferential to the weight en bouche and engendering structural integrity.

Tasting: Saint Joseph 2010

Smooth blackberry fruit with a lacing of oak inlaid into the bouquet – a promising start, suggests finesse to follow. Has the snap, the pepperiness of the northern zone. The palate is threaded with fine grain tannin through its live blackberry fruit, emerges into clear waters at the spiced finish. Very vintage-typical. Could have more depth on the palate, is a bit strict, green in parts.