Cuilleron Saint Joseph Pierres Seches
WHY WE LOVE IT
- It has a fresh, precise, fruity nose. Subtle and taut on the palate, and bursting with lovely fruit. Mild with subtle tannins.
Varietal Composition: 100% Syrah
Elaboration: Grown in selection of vines on the hillsides of the north of Saint Joseph in an assemblage of the plots best expressing fruit and freshness. “Les Pierres Sèches” is not a district, it refers to the dry-stone walls used to strengthen the vine terracing.
The soil is sandy, granitic, shallow, and planting is high-density (8,000-10,000 vines per hectare). No insecticides are used, and few treatments (depending on weather) include small applications of organic-only fertilizer, respective of soil and vine balance. Precise control of vigor and yields is maintained through leaf stripping and a green harvest for better grape maturation
Grapes are hand-picked, then sorted, crushed, and partially destemmed in the cellar. Fermentation is in open, temperature-controlled vats for about three weeks with regular cap-punching and pumping-over. Malolactic fermented occurs in barriques with native yeasts. Maturation is achieved in 18 months.
Tasting Notes: A fresh, precise, fruity nose. Subtle and taut on the palate, and bursting with lovely fruit. Mild, subtle tannins.
PRESS
2021 – 90 Jeb Dunnuck
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Cuilleron Estates is a producer in the northern Rhône. The estate has been in the Cuilleron family for three generations, but it is the estate’s current owner and winemaker, Yves Cuilleron, who has expanded the size, scope, and scale of the vineyard, land holdings, and winery.