Delas : François de Tournon 2023

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for François de Tournon 2023 by Delas

Tasting

Appearance

The wine reveals a deep ruby colour with dark highlights, hinting at a dense, concentrated structure.

Nose

The nose opens with intense aromas of ripe blackcurrant, enhanced by notes of sweet spice, in a refined and complex whole.

Palate

The palate charms with its velvety texture, carried by fine, perfectly integrated tannins. The structure, both linear and elegant, points to excellent ageing potential.

Food and Wine Pairings

This Saint-Joseph pairs beautifully with grilled or roasted red meats, as well as slow-cooked dishes and certain full-flavoured poultry. It also shows at its best alongside game such as hare or roe deer in a civet, or with dishes in rich sauces such as beef bourguignon or a Provençal daube.

Serving and Cellaring

We recommend serving François de Tournon 2023 at a temperature between 16 and 18°C, decanting it one to two hours before tasting to allow its bouquet to fully unfold. This wine can be cellared until around 2031.

A Saint-Joseph Shaped by the Granite of the Hermitage Hill

The Estate

Founded in 1924 in Tain-l'Hermitage, in the northern Rhône Valley, the house of Delas Frères continues a winegrowing story that began in 1835 around the Hermitage hill. Since 1993, it has belonged to the Rouzaud family, owners of Champagne Louis Roederer, within the Roederer Collection, and it has been led by Marc Hoellinger since 2023. The house farms approximately 30 hectares spread across Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph, with technical direction provided by Jacques Grange since 1997.

The Vineyard

The parcels from which this Saint-Joseph originates lie in the southern part of the appellation, in the heart of the historic villages, on granite slopes overlooking the Rhône. This soil comes from the same original massif as that of the Hermitage hill, whose reliefs were separated by the river and by time. This geology gives the wine a mineral framework and a distinctive tension, characteristic of the great Syrah wines of the northern Rhône.

The Vintage

The year 2023 was marked by a dry winter, followed by a milder spring that helped the vines better withstand the intense summer heat. Deliberately limited yields and an early harvest beginning at the end of August produced grapes of impeccable health, pointing to a promising balance between ripeness and freshness.

Winemaking and Ageing

François de Tournon 2023 comes from a hand-picked harvest, followed by systematic destemming and a gravity-fed transfer of the berries into truncated conical stainless steel vats. Extraction is gentle, based on carefully controlled pumping over and punching down. After racking off, the wine is placed in barrels, where malolactic fermentation takes place, then aged for approximately 18 months in barrels, 30% of which are new oak. A blend in stainless steel tank, carried out three months before bottling, harmonises the whole and refines its texture.

Grape Variety

This wine is crafted from Syrah, the emblematic grape variety of the great red wines of the northern Rhône.