A Winner from St. Joseph

[Bucko]

1998 Jean-Luc Colombo, St. Joseph -- An absolutely delicious wine that went well with grilled rack of lamb. Loaded with complex fruit, lots of the peppery spice that I like in a Rhone, with a long, fruity, moderately tannic finish. This is case buy material. I see that Parker only gave it an 86-87 rating, which is good, because it will keep all of the 90 point or more hounds from snapping up this winner.

Bucko

[Scoop]

St.Joseph is often an overlooked appellation in the Northern Rhone, treated kind of like a step child when compared with stars like Hermitage, Cornas and Cote Rotie. Some of this stems from a checkered past in terms of quality and yields, but it's very much an up-and-coming district, with lots of new blood in the wine-making fold. In a good year like 1998, St. Joseph is worth the gamble (and the price is generally right!). And some nice whites, too (though not like Condrieu).

Cheers,

Scoop

[Bucko]

As much wine as I drink, this was my first St. Joseph -- I was not disappointed. I will definitely be looking at this region more carefully.

Bucko

[Thomas]

So what is the price of this wine?

Haven't seen St. Joseph in my isolated region, but shall look for it the next time I go to NY City.

[Bucko]

??????? A distributor gave it to me, price not yet set, around $25 retail. I saw the 97 at a discount dealer for $20.

Bucko