Our tasting impressions
We could drink this wine everyday...and sometimes, we come close to doing just that! It's just so damn good every vintage. But we risk making it sound like some simple swill. Marsanne is a serious and sophisticated grape and Corentin crafts a wine with depth and intrigue. The 2022 seems especially focused and precise. It's a lovely and provocative expression of a Rhône white.
About this wine
Saint Joseph is gaining in popularity and respect as a result of a new generation of winemakers with incredible commitment to elevating the quality of the wines from this appellation.
90% Marsanne and 10% Roussanne from a 2-hectare site with granite soil, mid to top of slope. The vines, planted up to 50 years ago, yield 45 hl/ha. The grapes are handpicked and whole clusters are crushed with a pneumatic press. Cold fermentation (and malolactic) is spontaneous in barrels for 1-4 years. A tangential filter is used and the wine spends 1 year in up to three-year old oak barrels.
About the grape blend
Marsanne and Roussanne are frequently blended in the Northern Rhône. Marsanne contributes body, richness, sweetness, fatness and an oily texture but very little acidity. Roussanne provides tension, finesse and deep aromatics.
About the vintage
Extreme weather has become commonplace and 2022 in the Norther Rhône was no exception. Searing temperatures and a dearth of rain could have spelled trouble for the vingerons, but some June rain and August humidity were beneficial. The harvest was, on average, about 20 days earlier than 2021. Overall, this is an excellent vintage.
On your table
Serve with duck pate and caramelized onion crostini. Best slightly chilled down from cellar temperature and in a sizable white wine glass.
The Pichon family is a growing force in the Northern Rhône region. Corentin, the eldest of the six children of Isabelle and Christophe, is a young, talented, 3rd generation winemaker. But this is every bit the family business as all of his 5 siblings are involved, along with Corentin's partner and mom and dad.
Based in Chavanay, the Pichons produce wines of elegance and finesse in a variety of appellations spanning more than 20 hectares. Chemical treatment of the mostly Syrah and Viognier vineyards is kept to a bare minimum. In addition to those from their own vines, they also purchase grapes for other wines.
VDLT has been visiting the Pichons for many years and is proud to include them as a foundation of the portfolio.
