"Josh Raynolds, vinous.com 93/100
Glass-staining ruby. Powerful, mineral-tinged aromas of blackberry, incense, dried flowers and smoky minerals. Shows excellent clarity and lift on the palate, offering sweet red and dark berry flavors and a strong note of candied violet. The juicy, precise finish features silky tannins and an echo of candied flowers. As approachable as this wine is now, its balance suggests that it will reward at least another five years of patience. Drink 2017 to 2030 Reviewed Feb 2015
Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate 94/100
More layered, rich and sexy than the 2013, the 2012 St Joseph is a beautiful, medium to full-bodied, fabulously textured red that's loaded with notions of ripe red and black fruits, olives, bay leaf and violets. It's approachable today, yet will evolve gracefully through 2030. Drink Date 2017 to 2030 Reviewed Dec 2016"
Josh Raynolds, Vinous.com
The Gonon brothers' wines have become real objects of desire in recent years. And while they've become increasingly difficult to purchase here in the U.S. they’re well worth the hunt as well as the inevitably higher prices that they now command. Pierre Gonon told me in December that he considers 2013 to be "a classic vintage in style, with elegance and freshness emphasized," but he also thinks that the wines will be best enjoyed on the young side "while the fruit is strong." He's more confident in the ageworthiness of the 2012s and is particularly fond of "the silk and harmony of the tannins," which will allow the wines to age as well as to be enjoyed in their youth. Gonon opened a bottle of the 2005 Saint-Joseph at the end of our tasting and the wine is simply gorgeous, with intense red fruit and floral character and supple tannins that fade smoothly into the wine's fruit. If you have any, consider yourself fortunate. And you probably paid less than half what the '12 will be going for, to boot.
