James continues his tasting tour of the northern Rhône's Syrah heartlands… The river viewed from St-Joseph vineyards is pictured here by Christophe Grilhé. See this guide to our coverage of 2020 Rhône.
There was quite a mixed bag from Crozes-Hermitage, with variations in both winemaking and, I suspect, terroir coming into play. The best have substance, the others a light fruitiness or too much make-up.
St-Joseph spans 60 km (37 miles) north to south and, as is usually the case in this appellation, as well as variation in quality there is a disparity in style between the south and...