There are five Saint-Joseph wines in the Souillard range. Four are from individual sites spanning the length of the appellation from Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf in the north to Saint-Jean-de-Muzols in the south. This is the only blended cuvée, drawn from three vineyards in Sarras and Andance in the centre of the appellation. Souillard estimates the average age of the vines to be 30 years. All three parcels are high on the slope at around 300 metres, facing east and on 40 centimetres of decomposed granite over granite bedrock.

These influences give a cooler fruit profile and more chiselled mouthfeel than the average Saint-Joseph. The winemaking is effectively the same for all the wines: spontaneous ferment and maceration in stainless steel with a large proportion of bunches before maturation in old wood. Think baby Hermitage.

“Striking wine. Game meat, red cherry, curry leaf, bay leaf, ginger, raspberry and rose hip tea with a lot of concentration, sloshy depth and grippy, granitic tannin in tow. It’s super fragrant, energetic and lithe, and yet a sense of ribald depth is apparent. Each sip releases more perfume, more pot pourri, more spice, a cavalcade of the stuff and so compelling in its way. And yet fresh. So vibrant, so lively, rising on coolness, frisky pepper and cinnamon, alpine herb, dried leaves. Yes thanks.” 94+ points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front