Our “Love Over Gold Hommage” is a nod to the vision of the previous custodian of the estate, Bob McLean. Bob planted a small block of bush vine Mourvèdre near the winery and Grenache on the highest part of the vineyards. In 2022, for the first time, we kept a small portion of Mourvèdre and created “Hommage” in the tradition of great Chateauneuf du Pape. Made of 42% Mouvèdre, 42% Grenache and 16% Shiraz in 2022 all handpicked on April 8th. Each varietal was crushed separately with 10th whole bunch and fermented on skin for 20 days. After 12 months in barrel, the blend was finalised and a perfectly identical mount of Grenache and Mourvèdre came up as the best blend.

This is drawn from two parcels on the steep, granitic slopes of Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, the historic heart of Saint-Joseph that lies opposite the hill of Hermitage. Three-quarters of the blend comes from 1980s planted Syrah, while the remainder of the vines were planted in the 1950s. Both parcels are organically farmed without herbicides by the Desbos family, and both lie on steep gradients that necessitate work by hand and horse only. In the cellar, the winemakers work with around 20 to 30% whole bunches, and the wine matures for one year in used ex-Burgundy 228-litre oak casks for 11 months, followed by six months in tronconique. Bottled unfiltered, it’s a layered, deep, rocky style of St-Jo, with taut red and blue fruits complemented by crushed stone, dried dark flowers and iron filing nuances.