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Tasting Notes
A tone and backbone wine, with layered flavors and aromas of blackberry, red berries, tobacco, violets, pastille, mineral, and black pepper that linger on the lengthy complex finish.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
14%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
We are collectively big fans of the Faury wines and the St. Joseph is a great entry point.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Syrah
100%See-RA
Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.
Phillipe Faury took over his family estate in the Northern Rhône in 1979. At the time, grapes and other fruits were grown on the family farm, but Philippe focused on making great wine, eventually expanding the estate to 11 hectares that he currently runs with his son Lionel.
The Northern Rhône’s terraced granite-soil vineyards require a lot of manual hard work. All grapes are hand-harvested and, in the winery, Faury uses partial destemming of the grapes and a gentle extraction, even executing punch-downs by foot before aging in variously sized barrels, avoiding too much new oak.
The wines of Faury deftly balance intensity and elegance with complex flavors and aromas of dark fruit, floral, and spice notes that are distinctly of the Northern Rhône.
Blackberry
Black Pepper
Violet
