Saint Clair St-Joseph Abimes 2020

After a near electrocution more than a decade ago, winemaker Denis Basset decided to pursue his personal passion and began making wine from the family’s long-established vineyards.

Basset farms a tiny plot of St. Joseph across the Rhône from his home in Crozes. Denis has named it “Les Abimes de l’Enfer” (the depths of Hell) for its vertiginous slopes that are so hard to work. The 2020 is an excellent year, more serious than the Crozes-Hermitage, with exceptionally fine-grained tannins and an elegant, persistent palate.