Saint Joseph Les Granits, Maison M. Chapoutier 2006

The wine of the lineup (the 2010 may surpass it in a few years), the 2006 Saint Joseph Les Granits is a blockbuster. Coming from a dry, hot vintage (and a very strong vintage in general for this estate), it has awesome depth and concentration to go with classic Northern Rhone meatiness, minerality, dried spices and dark fruit on the nose. Filling the mouth with fruit, it’s perfectly balanced, has sweet tannin and a finish that won’t quit. Given this showing, I wouldn’t hesitate to start cracking bottles, but it has at least another decade of prime drinking.