1979 Raymond Trollat Saint-Joseph

Trollat Raymond is the label used by Raymond Trollat, one of the Northern Rhone Valley’s most remarkable producers. Trollat is the éminence grise and widely acknowledged great artist of Saint-Joseph. Until his retirement in 2005, he had spent his entire life working a 5.4 acre, old-vine estate that as a young man he worked with his father. Trollat, a beloved figure who still dispenses viticultural advice to his younger neighbors, is as legendary as his wines. Wine writers and Rhone wine collectors over the decades have lauded Trollat’s wines for their incomparable earthiness and style. Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote in the late 1990s that Trollat “produces intense, concentrated, muscular wines that require time in the bottle.” The New York Times noted more recently that Trollat’s wines represent a style that “that embodies the history of Saint-Joseph” and speaks “in a far broader vocabulary than simply fruit and oak.” Trollat typically produced only about 1,000 cases of red St. Joseph annually, along with 100 cases of Marsanne. Having no heir, he sold his vineyards when he retired. Nevertheless, his wines, now extremely rare, live on as a testament to singular winemaking.

The Northern Rhône Valley wine region hugs the Rhône River from Vienne in the north to Valence at its southern tip. The French call the region Côtes du Rhône Septentrionales, and it is divided into eight appellations. Along with its neighbor to the south, the Southern Rhone Valley, it is famous for its big, tannic, intensely concentrated wines. Syrah is the only red grape permitted in AOC wines from this sub-region, though the Syrah can be blended with the white wine grapes Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne, depending on the regulations for each AOC. White wines are made from Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Of the eight appellations in the north, the most admired wines tend to come from Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and Hermitage, though there are certainly exceptional wines to be found in St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Peray, Crozes-Hermitage and Cornas. Along with Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, Rhône wines are among France’s best known and most collected wines. Red wines from these appellations are notable for their signature aromas of bacon and green olives, and for their depth. Robert M. Parker, a great champion of Rhone wines, has written that “the northern Rhône produces three of the greatest wines in the world – the white wines of Condrieu and the red wines of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage.”

This grape is grown in milder climates and produces a medium-to full-bodied wine. It is also known as Shiraz, but should not be confused with Petit Sirah, which was developed by crossing Syrah with Peloursin.