Ferraton, Saint-Joseph (Rhône Valley, France) 2016

 Ferraton is a house of long-standing that has made two major changes in direction in recent years, first in 1998 when Michel Chapoutier got involved and shifted viticulture in organic and then biodynamic directions before buying the operation outright in 2006.  There’s a negociant side to the business, with quite good wines at attractively reasonable prices, but also some domaine wines made from excellent sites with old vines that were purchased decades ago by the Ferraton family.  These latter bottlings seem to get better every year, yet prices are not quite keeping up with the pace of improvement, which is a word to the wise.  This is sourced from a single site south of the village of Tournon that was planted in the 1950s on decomposed granite.  It is marvelous wine, with excellent density and almost bottomless depth of flavor, but also a layered character with very open flavors showing a host of both fruity and savory nuances.  The fruit is quite dark-toned, yet never hard nor unforgiving, and the gorgeous accents of violets, black olive tapenade, smoked meat and baking spices are enduringly appealing.