Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Les Oliviers

Bought at auction so I didn’t know what to expect. Rewarded to say the least. Rust color on the open. Thin with tobacco flaVor on the one. Dark plum five hours later. Thick. Visually a 180 degree wine. On the palate more vinegar. Nose is faint. Still love the effort.

Suprisingly elegant--bloody, earthy notes but light on its feet. Hard to judge next to '89 but this one has more life at this stage.

Gonon-athon (NYC) : Starts out a little reticent aromatically; smoky, savoury and still brightly fruited, though without the aromatic complexity and depth of the '89 poured alongside. After sitting in the glass for a while though, it suddenly transforms as if someone turned a switch on, with layers of smoked meat, leather, tobacco, higher toned floral and spicy notes and ripe fruit emerging aromatically. There's a sense of both power and restraint on the palate, tremendous depth and complexity, and …

A really nice example of a mature N. Rhone Syrah, but not profound. Very well integrated on the nose and palate, with some really nice olivey, leather characteristics on full display. Drinking well, seems to be right in the middle of it's plateau of maturity. No reason to wait, but no rush either.

The Portuguese menace strikes again. God damn him.

Screw you Portuguese menace!

Bottle and fill excellent, cork soaked to near the top. not decanted, but opened about 90 minutes prior to drinking and poured into glasses - good Northern Rhone character which softens with time. The wine becomes more complex with air, but is fully mature and perhaps a touch on the downslope. It never exactly faded, but seems best with limited decanting and developing in the glass. Very fine leather, licorice and subtle garrigue. Much better than the 1989 I had …

Still going strong. A lot of fruit, dark cherry and slightly plummy. Some olive and violet notes. Interesting savory notes like grilled chicken skin on the nose. Soft, very St Jospeh, held up very well in the glass even if you can sense some age on the palate. Very good and still have a few more years in the tank.

beautiful, complex charcuterie & leather nose with nuances of soy sauce & licorice emerging from time to time. soothing silken palate. lively black fruit, almost juicy after 20+yrs. tremendous showing.

Opened one hour in advance of drinking. Beautiful secondary aromas present. Structure was initially good. Afraid I must report, however, that after a half hour or so the wine began to come apart. In retrospect, I should have popped and poured. Will do exactly that with my second bottle. Drink up if you have any.