2020 Aurélien Chatagnier, Saint-Joseph "Zélée", Rhône Valley, France
Zélée is Aurélien Chatagnier's high-end Saint-Joseph. Full, rich, complex, smooth wine, where spices and fruit blend superbly. Boasting complex aromas of Christmas spices—peppermint, cinnamon, allspice and others—as well as layers of blackberry and plum fruit, it's medium to full-bodied, ripe and plush, with a velvety mouthfeel and a lingering, spice-infused finish. Concentrated and tannic enough to age for a decade (at least).
There are 8 units left in stock.
ABOUT THIS WINE
The cuvée Zélée (as in zealous, or zealot) is selected by Aurélien each year from his favorite barrels. This vintage is focused on one of his best parcels in Limony, a selection of other barrels is blended in each year. The first vintage produced of this cuvée was in 2016, with the goal of crafting a wine with more freshness, length, and capacity to age.
100% destemmed. Natural yeast fermentation in fiberglass tanks, three pumpovers per day. Maceration à chaud at 30-32ºC.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Aurélien Chatagnier created his own domaine in 2002, when he was just in his early 20s. He doesn’t come from a winemaking family, but as a teenager he worked in the vines for Domaine Jamet, where he became inspired to learn more about winemaking. He worked for several years with François Villard, who eventually pushed him to head out on his own. Starting with just over 1 hectare of rented vines, Aurélien has steadily built up a domaine of almost 10 hectares by purchasing, bartering, and replanting vineyards around the town of Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf at the Northern extreme of the Saint Joseph appellation. The vineyards are predominantly granite, and very steep. The house style leans towards a lean, pure style of winemaking, and shows the reason why some of the best producers in the area decided to pass the torch over to Aurélien as one of the best young winemakers in the region.