2023 Domaine Jocelyne et Yves Lafoy, Syrah “Alliance” IGP Les Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhône, France.
The 2023 Alliance Syrah from Jocelyne and Yves Lafoy is a simply delicious terroir driven wine with classic Northern Rhône character and earthy charm, it delivers blueberry, boysenberry, damson plum and cherry fruits on the medium bodied palate, along with leathery tones, forrest floor, old cedar, anise, raw peppercorns and subtle violet florals. This wine is poised and deeply hued in the glass, but nice and fresh with enough fruit density and tannin structure to keeps things interesting with a robust meaty meal. The organic grapes see full de-stemming and are macerated for about three weeks in vat before being pressed to neutral old oak barrels to age, with elevate lasting just 6 months. The results are brilliant transparency and quaffable in terms of best way, I highly recommend these Lafoy wines, especially their Saint Joseph Rouge, an elevated version of Syrah and this Alliance, which is a killer value.
Pretty new to me and on the scene, the Lafoy domaine, was founded in 1993 by husband and wife, Jocelyne and Yves Lafoy, and the winery has grown from a humble one and a half acres in the Côte Rôtie appellation to eight acres in their first 20 years. The winery now also has vines in Condrieu, Saint Joseph, which I have tried, and Collines Rhodaniennes where the grapes for this Syrah are from. The Lafoy’s wine continues to be focused on freshness, minerality and finesse, though complex and serious offerings. The Collines Rhodaniennes, once a Roman outpost and wine growing area, is a zone that was largely forgotten until the 1990s when the popularity of Northern Rhône Syrah surged and winery started looking for new sites to plant. Lafoy’s vines are set on pure granite soils with a cooler exposure, giving fruit that can produce beautiful blue toned flavors at moderate alcohol, as this one, at just 12.5%, shows. This Alliance Syrah delivers a tasty performance and gives you solid insight into the style here.
($27 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive