Wine Front: The Eight Iron vineyard is located near the cellar door. Planted in 1960 on shallow grey loam. Raspberry liqueur, pepper, licorice, earth - seems very McLareny. Even, savoury ...

Wine Front: Shallow grey loam planted 1999. Got a bit of lift and also a floral edge, marzipan, dark fruit and dark chocolate. Chewy dry tannin, ferrous, rough and rugged - though a littl...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Inky purple. A ripe, expansive nose is at once decadent and lively, offering notes of candied dark berries, smoky minerals, black pepper, and olive. Lush and fine-grained, wit...

About this Wine: It is Courbis' most dramatic wine, showing saturated black-purple in color with layers of chewy, ripe, sweet fruit with black olive and berry, tar and mineral notes. It ...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: Most of the fruit comes from hillside vineyards in Larnage. The 2010 St.-Joseph Les Granits (870 cases produced) is a more flowery, elegant, feminine-styled effort than Les Va...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Opaque ruby. Smoky, mineral-driven aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola, cured meat and violets, plus a strong spicecake overtone. Intense red berry flavors are lifted by ...

About this Wine: This wine should drink well for the next 10-15 years.

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Opaque ruby. Intense, mineral-accented aromas of cherry-cola, minerals, cracked pepper and anise. Smoky and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant dark berry and bitter...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: More flint, barbecue smoke, crushed rock, spring flower, blueberry and black raspberry characteristics are present in the full-bodied 2011 St.-Joseph Les Granits. Uncommonly f...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The dense purple-colored 2011 Crozes-Hermitage Les Varonnieres offers notes of black olives, tapenade, gun flint, smoky barbecue, charcuterie and red meats. Full-bodied, soft ...

Wine Spectator: Straddling the line between road tar, spice and dried berry fruit, this is an intense, tight and concentrated red, full-bodied and dense. A young, compact wine that has a firm...

Wine Spectator: Very round and fresh, with delicious crushed fig, plum sauce and graphite flavors laced with spice and sweet earth notes. The long, incense- and toast-filled finish has lovely...

Wine Spectator: Rich and dense, but velvety and nicely detailed, with sleek-edged cassis, blackberry and plum fruit woven with white pepper, mulled spice and dark olive notes. A strong, tangy...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The big, concentrated yet velvety-textured, magnificent 2003 Shiraz reveals a seamless integration of tannin, acidity, wood, and alcohol, it boasts aromas of blackberry liqueu...

Wine Spectator: This is a delicious Syrah, pure, rich, intense and concentrated, with a wonderful core of zesty black cherry, blackberry, wild berry and pretty fresh earth scents. Just when y...

Wine Spectator: A very fresh, pure style, with a strong violet note leading the way for almost brisk blackberry, black currant and black cherry fruit, pushed by sweet tobacco and tapenade not...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Vivid ruby. Pungent, textbook syrah aromas of dark berry preserves, olive tapenade, violets and anise, with a smoky overtone. Sappy and precise, offering chewy black raspberr...

Wine Spectator: An open-throttle Syrah that's pure, rich and powerful, with a potent mix of dense plum, blackberry, blueberry and dried herb holding a tight focus and gaining depth through th...

Wine Spectator: Very enticing, with roasted herb, olive and spice notes flittering in front of darker pastis, blackberry paste and briar notes. The long, grippy finish is iron-driven, with a ...

About this Wine: As I have written many times, all of these wines are produced from rigidly cultivated, bio-dynamically managed vineyards. That has been the rule since Michel Chapoutier fi...