Domaine Blachon Saint-Joseph Cuvée Hommage Roger Blachon

deep dark burgundy red, little clarity, silvery hue Nose: raspberry, animale, cigar, earth, tobacco, chocolate, minerals, dust, oak Pal: raspberry, animale, cigar, tobacco, white pepper, cola, chocolate, coffee, earth, dust, minerals, vanilla, stem, tannins, oak Feel: medium, acidic Finish: medium T8

Deep ruby but not opaque. Wintergreen and blackberry. Medium weight with a stony sheen. Pepper and somewhat neutral red/black fruit in the mouth. Fuzzy and lacking tension and drive. Okay at best.

Post-Climbing Steak at Nopa (Nopa SF) : (blind) Medium-plus ruby in the glass with a hint of purple. On the nose, blackberry, earth, black pepper, slight herbs. Dry, medium body, medium alcohol - feels 13%, medium plus acid, medium plus tannins. Very nice integration of flavors. The black pepper, earth, deep color, and elevated acid all point to a textbook Northern Rhone Syrah. Within the context of Northern Rhone, it seems about middle of the road in terms of quality. …