Vidal Fleury Saint-Joseph Rouge 2018
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Rhone Valley
Grape Variety: 100% Syrah
Climate: Continental climate with hot summers, cool autumns and winters
Terroir: Vines grow on narrow terraces with steep, mainly granitic slopes
Winemaking: Long traditional maceration (3 weeks). In the beginning, a lot of load shedding. Fermentation with native yeasts and maceration at controlled temperature (30°C). Complete malolactic fermentation. Natural clarification and stabilization by successive withdrawals, filtration (tangential), and absence of sticking. Aged on lees: 3 months in vats then 12 months in barrels. Ageing in bottle: 4 months before release
Color: Dense purple-ruby
Nose: An intense nose of red fruits (black cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry), cigar, plants (thyme, bay leaf, eucalyptus) and spices (nutmeg, pepper, clove)
Palate: A harmonious, fruity and fresh palate. Tannins envelop the palate with a length over toasted notes
About the Winery:
Founded in 1781, Vidal-Fleury is the Rhône Valley’s oldest continuing grower/négociant firm. Thomas Jefferson’s visit in 1787 was its first contact with the United States; he called the wines “justly celebrated”.
During the 1890s, Gustave Vidal married a daughter of the Fleury family. Thanks to her dowry, they replanted the vineyard following the phylloxera outbreak. Then, in the 1920s, the House took an interest in other wine-growing regions throughout the Rhône Valley.
In 1984, Ets. Guigal acquired the company. This step was a logical continuation for the Vidal-Fleury and Guigal families, who had always worked together. Indeed, Etienne Guigal (Marcel’s father) was hired as a vine grower and cellar master by Joseph Vidal-Fleury in 1924. When the Vidal-Fleury family decided to sell the House, as none of its heirs felt like taking over the reins, it naturally turned to the Guigal family. As a result, the company remains family-run. Vidal-Fleury is managed in absolute independence with its own winemaking, logistics and commercial team.
In 2006 Vidal-Fleury began investing to modernize its winery facilities, installing state-of-the-art technology; in 2008, it built a new cellar specifically dedicated to maturing the wines. In addition, Vidal-Fleury’s vineyards are overseen with 100% self-sustaining management practices.
Long considered one of the most respected producers in the Rhône Valley, Vidal-Fleury carries on under the watchful management of Head Winemaker Guy Sarton du Jonchay.
