Domaine Verzier, Empreinte, Saint-Joseph, Rhône, France 2020

As Rhone-lovers will know well, it's important to nuance the very different qualities of St Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. It wasn’t the plump, juicy generosity of the latter which fought its way through to our Best In Show collection this year, but rather the fragrance, elegance, swish, verve and classicism of the former that most impressed our judges. If you love the mouthwateringly smoky, ham-bone-and-flowers allure of Northern Rhone Syrah, then dig into a glassful of this 2020 wine and see it personified. The wine is neither plump nor texturally rich on the palate; what it does do, rather, is take that perfumed fresh fruit and run with it to hypnotic (and mouth-watering) effect. You’ll find brighter acidity here than in most Northern Rhone white wines, paradoxically, but that acidity is ripe, vivid and resonant: perfect structuring for a wine that is clearly best drunk and enjoyed as soon as possible.

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