2017 Saint Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice Guigal

Disappointing only in the context of other recent vintages, the 2017 Saint-Joseph Vignes de l'Hospice is still a fine wine. It comes across as plush and a bit jammy, with vanilla-accented cherry and raspberry shadings. Medium to full-bodied and richly textured, at the moment it just lacks that little bit of extra spark shown by the 2016 and 2018.

Vivid purple. Vibrant, highly perfumed black and blue fruit, violet and exotic spice aromas display outstanding clarity and pick up smoky mineral and olive notes with aeration. Pure, focused and energetic in the mouth, offering densely packed blueberry, cherry preserve, fruitcake and violet pastille flavors that show superb depth and no rough edges. Delivers superb clarity on the impressively long, energetic finish, which features resonating floral and spice notes and suave, well-knit tannins. -- Josh Raynolds 95 Josh Raynolds 2025 - 2035.