We’ve been selling a few successive vintages of this now and it has become a go-to favorite for those looking for top value Northern Rhone Syrah. Highly Recommended Buy at C4

Syrah, the only grape variety of this Saint-Joseph, comes from soils of granite and decomposed quartz. The yield of these young vines (20 years old) is controlled to 40 hl/ha. Harvesting is done at 76% with full bunches of grapes. These ferment for two weeks in open stainless steel and wooden vats. The wine is then aged for seventeen months in barrels (35% in new barrels, 65% in two to four-year old barrels). Every year François Villard produces about 11,000 bottles of this wine which is concentrated in aromas of candied black fruit. A silky attack, spicy notes and a rounded and complex palette make it perfect when paired with filet of duck in a pepper sauce.