Pierre Gonon, Saint-Joseph (Rhône Valley, France) 2017

 During the past five years or so, the St-Jo Rouge from this house has become a cult wine (no other term will do) that is very difficult to find at any price, and very difficult to afford if found.  I’ve got a couple of magnums of the 2012 in my cellar for which I paid about half what a 750 ml bottle now costs, which indicates just how crazy the cult has gone.  (Note to cultists:  My cellar is guarded by Marco, a Pit Bull / Rottweiler / Lab mix who doesn’t take kindly to intruders.)  Usually it isn’t a good idea to chase cult wines, but there’s no doubting that this is excellent in 2017, showing rich, dark-toned fruit with impressive intensity but also a suave side with lots of little aromatic nuances, layered flavors, and just the right touch of wood.  My close friend and WRO colleague Paul Lukacs tasted a bottle of this in a restaurant in Europe a couple of years ago…loved the wine…and then returned to the horrific discovery of what one must pony up to buy a bottle.  Beware of undergoing the same sequence of experiences.