For the past two years, Gerard's St. Joseph Le Blanchard has sold out in a matter of hours.

We first tasted the 2014 vintage and were blown away by the wine's bright, complex aromatics and lifted elegance.

Gerard was introduced to his importer, none other than Neal Rosenthal, by the great Côte-Rôtie classicist Bernard Levet. Xavier Gerard is a young grower who took over his family's small domaine in earnest in 2012 and in no time has turned out incredibly elegant and traditionally made Syrahs and Viogniers.

The majority of Gerard's holdings are in Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu. His St. Joseph comes from Le Blanchard, a vineyard just south of Condrieu. In a good vintage he makes a mere 2,000 bottles of the St. Joseph.

Le Blanchard is a fascinating expression of St. Joseph. It possesses an unusual finesse, agility and perfume - elements that it shares with Cote-Rotie.

The site really shines in 2017. The vintage combines the ripeness and power of 2015 with a dose of the vibrant acid backbone of 2016. In these conditions, the 2017 Le Blanchard has a remarkable focus, soaring aromatics and incisive length. It feels like the riper vintage helped to amplify and refine the wine's hallmark characteristics.

As people like Gonon, Juge and Allemand have enjoyed an enormous amount of fame, prices for top examples of the region's wines have increased swiftly. Thankfully, in this context, it's easy to look upon Gerard's St. Joseph as a serious bargain. We suggest getting your orders in early. This will disappear quickly.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits