Pierre Gonon, Saint Joseph Rouge 2020

Gonon is one of the last remaining old-school St. Joseph growers based in the original appellation around Tournon, Mauves and St-Jean-de-Muzols. Pierre and Jean Gonon’s unwavering adherence to the old ways is why they are St. Joseph’s champions of traditionalism today.  The brothers work their vines organically, plowing by horse on the steep slopes, with all new plantings a sélection massale from their old vines, and yields are kept low through ruthless pruning.

Gonon's Saint Joseph is sourced from all three of the main original St. Joseph villages. The wine is made with up to three weeks’ whole-cluster fermentation in open wooden vats, with both pumpovers and punchdowns for extraction, followed by just over a year’s aging in old 600-liter foudre.