romo

9.2

As can be seen, got the last dregs. Way more herbal than the Gonon, but still a youngster at 16. — a year ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Just a great drinking SJ that is not far behind the level of Gonon showing dark fruits, mineral, meat, licorice, earth, blood, spice, olive, violet & tobacco notes. Wow, what a great wine at $50! — 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Great SJ that was elegant & floral that reminded me a lot of Gonon less the $$$ This had lots dark fruits, meat, iron, savory spice, black olive, pepper, licorice & violet. — 3 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.6

An absolute monster of a wine. 4 hours in the decanter served perfectly to allow this 2001, perhaps one of the best Hommage vintages ever, to flaunt its incredibly complex aromatic array of black fruits, roasted Provençal herbs, licorice, campfire smoke and Christmas spices.

It’s still youthful with ripe tannins and a ton of muscle. Nowhere near its peak. But it’s entering its drinking window seamlessly, being incredibly giving and expressive with sufficient air. Similar to how VV Gonon differs from the regular bottling, Hommage just cranks everything up to 10 and it’s concentrated flavors come at you in waves. But it never gets heavy as there is just enough lift and precision to keep everything harmonious. A very special bottle from a very special vintage indeed. — 4 years ago

Mark S.

9.2

Pear like fruitiness without bitterness. Rich. That’s good Rhone blanc. 2017 @2880, Kping, 201205 — 5 years ago

Jae Cho

9.1

Exuberant burst of blackberry, boysenberry, black currant and plum. Diametrically opposite to gonon, but more fun. Natty by nature — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

Underrated, or should I say underrepresented. You can hardly find these in the east coast, though the same can be said in the west (of Australia, in case anyone's wondering). Picked up one of the last bottles of the 2018 Lowboi Riesling from a store in Perth. Lucky me since it's sold out in most of the city.

The 2017 Lowboi Riesling was one of my favourite Aussie Rieslings last year, and the 2018's another winner. Pure energy! Laser precision, white florals, limey-citrusy goodness, salty acidity. Six months or so on lees has given it quite a lovely texture and a musky element. The use of RS (5 g/l) is brilliant - adds weight and softens the acidity, but finishes dry and long.

While "Lowboi" may sound like an upcoming underground rap artist, the wines are far from trying to be hip. They're serious, age-worthy Rieslings and Chardonnays. In fact, the actual origin of the name is a pointer - it pays tribute to the area and namesake where the winemaker's mother grew up in. Lowboi is the personal label of Guy Lyons, winemaker and heir of Forest Hill. Trust me when I say there's real talent here, as I've had the pleasure of working and spending many nights drinking with the man himself. And let's not talk about the impressive resume, having spent time at perhaps the best wineries of their cepage - Gonon and Keller.

The Porongurup Riesling comes from dry-farmed vines planted in 1985. South-facing, the aspect might surprise some as it goes against all convention in the southern hemisphere. But like Kai Schatzael's north-facing auction Pettenthal, Guy probably saw the Springview Vineyard's potential in producing wines of greater finesse in an increasingly warmer planet. Taste this and they will be no questions asked! — 7 years ago

romo

9.5

Last week Duncan told me to open these. Holy shit. Wife drank most of it. Bought on release, all the adolescent tannin and hyper fruit have mellowed. Reminds me of Gonon with the salinity, the focus, and the scary balance at 14.7%. A meditation. — a year ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.8

Off the charts good, textbook classic Syrah made in a clean and almost too perfect way. Where are the faults? Kidding aside this is about as good as anything I have had from St. Jo from Gonon or anyone else. All the classic notes of black pepper, roasted meats, bacon fat, olive, the hole package...the nose is very pronounced and the palate has freshness to the generosity, a super long finish and a very fun and enjoyable bottle! — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Sick wine. Opened after 15 Gonon was corked. Wild nose. Game. Blackberry. Olive. Dark violets. Palate is sweet, succulent and super tangy with great freshness and purity. Amazing tiny berry concentrated fruit and impeccable balance. Nose now coming into focus with lovely high toned violets, red and blackberry and even some cassis. This is truly wonderful. Terrific concentration and layering. Awesome fruit on this and wonderful minerality. Profound in every sense of the word. Super and very very complex. — 4 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.2

This was a real surprise. Pale gold in the glass, quince paste, tangerine, floral, a touch nutty, but with real acidic verve—not even remotely tired or flabby. Not quite on the level of Gonon Oliviers but really fantastic. Maybe I should rethink my biases re: rhone whites. Excellent with cast iron chicken with olives and artichokes — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

I'll start off by saying that I think less-than-ideal storage conditions marred this tasting with Kai. It's a struggle here really because I really like their Malaysian importer. I can understand the difficulties in maintaining an effective cold chain in Malaysia, so I sincerely hope this gets better.

Having said that, this was my favorite in Kai's line-up despite the slightly advanced wine. Good perfume, sporting smokey black fruits, herbs, spices, violets, and wood (which was a touch distracting). I felt the palate should have been livelier - dark-fruited, spicy, and earthy, with heavy charred notes permeating throughout. The finish has a lot fruit sweetness, with a lick of caramel and balsamic. Nice wine, though not one I'd actively seek.

To be frank I think too much oak was used here, but not in the same liberty as in Barossa Shiraz. It's more like Guigal vs Gonon... maybe that's a bit extreme... Jamet vs Gonon... though not quite right still. I like Kai, but I gotta follow my palate at times like this. — 6 years ago

Rich Bergan

9.6

Had this at 11MP. — 7 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Great producer of St Joseph just a couple of notches under Gonon. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

I met up with a buddy who is a huge Napa guy. It’s what he knows and to his credit, he has great knowledge of producers and has good taste. We decided to grab a bite at Buvette and he asked if I would pick out the bottle. He said he trusted my judgment, so I walked over to the Rhone wall and noticed the 2019 Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph. Knowing the style, I figured it would touch some of the things he would be familiar with, particularly right now in its youth.

Popped and poured; no formal notes. The 2019 Saint-Joseph pours a deep purple color that stains the glass. On the nose, the wine is fresh and redolent of ripe black fruits and some blue fruits: blackberries and other dark brambly fruits along with some blueberries. The non-fruits were also there: beautiful purple flowers, black pepper, rocky minerals and some lovely vanilla and baking spices. On the palate, the wine was big, full-bodied and had great structure, nearing that medium+ range across the board. The acid is fantastic and the finish was long and savory. It’s easy to draw comparisons between Chave and Gonon as anymore, they share a similar price point and both are known leaders in the appellation. From my perspective, the Chave S-J comes across a bit more focused on the fruit, floral and spice characteristics while the Gonon S-J highlights the bacon fat and rotundone. Otherwise, both are excellent examples. FWIW, my buddy loved the wine (chalk one up for the Old World!) and it was an excellent pairing with our braised short ribs. Drink now to enjoy its youth or enjoy through 2034+. — 2 years ago

web bond

9.0

Wholecluster aromatic is a dead ringer for Gonon Iles Feray. Not as fresh on the palate as desired. Extremely stylish although not with enough delicious character. — 4 years ago

web bond

9.0

Stylistically a dead ringer for Gonon Les Isles Feray. — 4 years ago

Jae Cho

9.1

Bring me some Gilles Verot head cheese and other Lyonnais delicacies. This meaty blue fruited stunner is gorgeous and goes on and on. I can see the Mauves neighborly comparisons. The first time I tried Gonon was at Bar Boulud. — 5 years ago

Raj Harb

9.5

Corkage at Wu’s wonton. Bright purple. Floral violet aromatics with a bit of cracked pepper. I was as impressed as the first time I drank it. Pulled away from gonon les iles feray (split decision) by end of night but they are two v high quality and v high qpr Syrah. — 7 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Gonon much? 🤔 serious accomplishment. — 8 years ago