I don’t make whole-case purchases all that often. Usually I find that 12 of a particular wine is a little too much. 6 is usually better. But this is the last bottle of a case purchase I made that I was very pleased with. I’ve just looked up my report on the tasting at Bibendum in 2003, which tells me that this cost £10 a bottle all in. It’s a wonderfully authentic, slightly rustic Northern Rhone Syrah that aged nicely and now is just beginning to decline a little. Gilles Barge is an utterly reliable producer making really authentic Cote-Rotie, albeit in a traditional and sometimes (nicely) challenging style.

Gilles Barge Clos des Martinets St Joseph 2001
Aromatic, stinky and savoury with notes of blood, iron, meat and spice. The palate shows bright berry fruits but also distinctive savoury notes of blood/iron, meat, olives and earth. Really distinctive and expressive, this is an old-fashioned, savoury expression of northern Rhone Syrah: there’s no doubting its origin. 91/100

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