Moving to the Saint-Joseph releases still in barrel, the 2012 Saint Joseph Domaine is a juicy, lively and fresh effort that has a soft, easygoing, medium to full-bodied texture. Offering up plenty of floral nuances, smoke, leather and some green herbs, this blend of 100% Syrah (14 months mostly in tank) should be consumed over the coming 5-7 years. This was a stacked lineup from this top-notch estate, and I was able to taste through the lineup multiple times, once while visiting the domaine, and again in a larger lineup of wines from each appellation. They never failed to impress. Located in the tiny town of Chateaubourg and covering roughly 50 acres in Saint-Joseph and 20 in Cornas, most of which are ideally situated, Courbis is now run by Laurent and Dominique Courbis, with Laurent running the cellar and Dominique managing the vineyards. Despite the high quality, these wines remain reasonably priced, and also see good distribution in the US. It’s an estate that needs to be on every Northern Rhone lover’s short list. Importer: Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082