Domaine Blachon Saint-Joseph Le Paradis Cuvee Tradition 2016

Syrah fans! This is our go-to, drink all-the-time Northern Rhone (and yours too, based on how often we’ve had to re-order this wine)! Deep and complex, smoky, spicy, and quintessentially syrah… and today it’s an even better bargain – ONLY $21 and free shipping on 6 or more! Folks, Saint-Joseph for this price is simply unheard of!  

This lovely Saint-Joseph just keeps getting better – no surprise in a vintage like 2016 (one of the finest in decades!). It’s got a 90-point score, but honestly? That’s stingy. It's at least a 93 in our books, EASY.  Read the review and tell us you’re not drooling.

“Smoky bacon,”...“juicy and focused,”...“fresh boysenberry”?!?! Sign us up! We’ll put our money on the sleeper hit – especially at prices like this! Ok, back to Saint-Joseph...history lovers, get a kick out of this....Saint-Joseph wines date back all the way to 1292! The royal family once admired and enjoyed the wines of this appellation, and their legal subjects followed suit. They may not have been drinking Blachon, but they knew greatness when they tasted it. Located in Mauves, the tenderloin of the sprawling appellation, Domaine Blachon is all about location. These steep, terraced hillside vineyards overlook the Rhone river and produce classic expressions of syrah. 

Blachon, who first started making syrah before WWI, is in the fifth generation of vignerons and winegrowers and arguably making the finest wines in its history. The 2016 Le Paradis is a glorious wine showcasing flavors of dried blackberry and black olive on top of a pile of freshly crushed gravel, with red cherries and spring flowers and that lovely smoky bacon and spice note. These aromas and flavors gently envelop your mouth with soft tannins and a persistent minerality that can only be Saint-Joseph. This is understated and elegant but with power, energy, and a serious spine – lovely stuff.