The Northern Rhône's Forgotten Slopes
2010 A La Tâche St. Joseph: Badel & Guillamy
If you're a top grower in the Northern Rhône, you have the A La Tâche boys' phone number in your contacts.
A La Tâche means "at work." And, first and foremost, the people at A La Tâche work the steep terraced vineyards for many of the great producers of the Northern Rhône. They plow, rebuild terraces, etc.
Talk to growers in the Northern Rhône and you'll hear that St. Joseph has some great vineyards. You'll also hear that many are at risk of being lost - they're just too difficult to work. These arduous, vanishing vineyards are where A La Tâche focuses for their small winemaking project.
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At this point, the 2010 vintage in the Northern Rhône doesn't need much of an introduction. It will go down as one of the best vintages of the past couple of decades. It's thrilling in its purity, detail and clarity.
We offered A La Tâche's 2010s almost two years ago. When we had the option of picking up more, we jumped at it.
A La Tâche works traditionally - stems are included, fermentation is done with native yeasts in open-top fermenters without temperature control, and the wines age for 16 months or more in old wood. The result is a pure, precise and soulful expression of Syrah.
Badel is a ridiculously steep terraced vineyard on granite that's very difficult to work. The site is also very cool. Badel is hauntingly beautiful, showing the coolness of the site in the best way. Badel shows a shivering, pointed, nervy side of St.-Joseph with a firm backbone of polished minerals. It's a really unusual and compelling expression of St.-Joseph and Syrah in general. The aromatics, tension and overall finesse are lovely.
Guillamy is a 1.2ha vineyard. Compared to the very cool Badel, which doesn't yield alcohol levels above 12 or 12.5 percent, Guillamy is the warmer site. Guillamy yields a more powerful expression of Syrah. It shows more texture than Badel and delivers notes of tapenade, flowers and herbs.
The two vineyards total something around 3ha, so it's one of those situations where we really love the wines, but there's not a ton to go around.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits