Herve Souhaut Syrah 2019

100% Syrah. Hervé Souhaut created his now cult winery, Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet in 1993. Hervé works 5-hectares of old and ancient vines—between 50 to 100 years old. He is very fortunate to own two vineyards in the Rhône Valley just opposite the storied hills of Hermitage in Saint Joseph. This is the true, traditional region of Saint Joseph, not the expanded flatlands that came later. The winery is underneath the 16th century “les romaneaux” fortified farm and sits in the middle of the vines that make up the some of his best wines. Hervé works entirely on whole grape bunches and semi-carbonic maceration. His philosophy is natural and to extract a delicate balance of tannins from the grapes, to make a wine with subtlety and finesse, but we must say his wines have such a fantastic level of purity and acidity that they can last for decades. This entry-level Syrah comes from the Ardeche with the vines ages being between 10 to 100 years and the average being 30 years old. So you're getting some serious quality for such a value. This is typical Northern Rhone Syrah with violets, bacon fat and black cherry all interplay on the nose. Deep black cherry and juicy plum flavors meshed with candied violets and cool strawberry flavors on the palate. Pick up as many bottles as you can because very little of Souhaut's wines make it stateside!