From granite-derived soils, the 2018 Saint Joseph La Cotte Sud boasts some dark fruit tones—plums and cassis—and a firm sense of underlying structure. Yet it's full-bodied and velvety in texture, a plush surface over sun-warmed stone that finishes long and layered. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.

Half of the 2017 Saint Joseph La Cotte Sud was aged in new oak, yet the wood is subtle here, coming across as an almond-paste richness added to the super ripe cherry fruit. Medium to full-bodied, this is velvety on the palate, then crisp on the finish, with lingering notes of tart cherries.

The only one of Courbis’s 2016s from Saint Joseph to really require any sort of cellaring is the 2016 Saint Joseph La Cotte Sud. This is sourced from 25-year-old vines planted on granitic, south-facing slopes and will spend 18 months in 50% new oak before being bottled in June 2018. This medium to full-bodied Syrah offers up hints of espresso and peppery spice layered atop ripe, plummy fruit. It’s supple upfront, then firms up on the long finish. Give it a couple of years in the cellar, and drink it over the next decade.

This is the first vintage for this wine, sourced from granitic, south-facing slopes. The 2015 Saint Joseph La Cotte Sud is dense and nearly impenetrable. Hugely concentrated, with massive cassis fruit and waves of firm tannins, it will need a few years (or more) in the cellar to become approachable.