Domaine Verzier, St Joseph "Empreintes", 2022

Generous, Fresh & Balanced Syrah from Northern Rhone

"Thoroughly engaging with masses of enticing dark fruit underscored by a flourish of minty herbals.Muscular and broad-shouldered with a fluency of fibrous tannins, a tang of lip-smacking acidity and a gorgeous smoky violet finish."
-Decanter

• 97/100 and Platinum medal - Decanter World Wine Awards 2024
• 100% Syrah
• Aged into 500l. demi-muids for a year

Food Pairing: Poultry, red meats, games  such as venison.

Cellaring: Can be drunk now, but also laid down for a decade or so.

STORY BEHIND THE WINE

The farm has been in the Verzier family since 1828. It sits on the top of the hill in the commune of Chavanay, just beside the Madone d’Izeras, in the heart of the Saint-Joseph and Condrieu vineyards, on the right bank of the Rhône River, 50 km south of Lyon.
Philippe, the youngest of 7 children, fell in love with these gnarled vines and took over the domaine in 1988, at the age of just 19.
At the time, the land was used for mixed farming, with cereals, fruit, vines, cows and goats. But Philippe wanted to devote himself entirely to winegrowing and started his activity with his father Jean’s 2.5 hectares of Saint-Joseph.
He replanted a few plots, including his first Condrieu under La Madone, stopped sending the grapes to the cooperative winery and produced his first vintage in 1988 in the winery he had set up.
The once tiny wine domaine has since grown to 16.5 hectares. Maxime, Philippe’s son, joined the domaine in 2016 after obtaining work experience in Alsace, Burgundy, Canada and South Africa. Deeply attached to his terroir, Maxime brings with him a desire to experiment with methods he learned during his time abroad.
The domaine has been certified organic since 2013 and biodynamic (Demeter) since 2018.