What's Pressoir Drinking?

Edouard Bourgeois
November 3, 2023

I thought it would be timely with La Tablee approaching to share this old picture from my phone. It was taken in 2014 in NYC and this was my first time tasting a bottle from Domaine Pierre Gonon. I vividly remember being blown away by this “simple” vin de pays. Les Iles Feray is a gem, produced from flatter vineyards at the bottom of the slope (between the Route Nationale and the Rhône) and young-vine fruit from hillside vineyards. Although the domaine is known for using a generous amount of whole cluster for the Saint Joseph, Iles Feray is made with mostly destemmed Syrah (50-80%, depending on the vintage). I made it a mission to find wines from Gonon ever since that very first bottle and I was of course amazed when I first tasted the Saint Joseph.

We recently hosted a Pressoir dinner pouring wines exclusively from the domaine and every single vintage was better than the previous one. A rarely seen consistency. I was also fortunate to visit the small domaine in Mauves and Jean, who runs the estate with his brother Pierre, was an extremely gracious host.

I have been wondering why their wines are so good. Is it the massale selection of his Syrah and Serine? The low yields? As often, I think the answer is in the acute feeling the producer gets when farming and making the wine. Jean was explaining for example that there are many manual tasks he and his brother do in the vineyard that are simply skipped over at other domaines. The échalas method is one of them, with a single stake per vine. Less and less people are capable of working that way as this practice requires much labor.

Don’t forget to watch Jean Gonon’s interview from our At Home Session we taped in May 2020. You can find the video on our website

What's Pressoir Drinking - Unicorns or Lunch Wines...?

by Raj Vaidya
April 27, 2022

On Easter weekend in the Rhône Valley, I had the pleasure of lunching on a simple casse-croûte with a friendly vigneron who invited us to taste some local products with him. The spread included several patés: chicken liver, pork and truffle, foie gras and chestnuts, all locally produced, as well as some phenomenal spiced saucisson sec and some crusty, delicious local hearth bread. Of course a giant wood block entirely covered in local cheeses was naturally also on the table…

The kind winemaker opened a number of delicious bottles as we passed the lazy weekend afternoon; an excellent 2013 Blanc de Blancs from Pascal Agrapart, a crisp white from the Jura made of Savignin, and finally, a fairly weathered bottle from Saint-Joseph from the famed producer Raymond Trollat.

Trolllat is an infamous character, jolly and utterly unconcerned with pomp and circumstance. I’ve never had the luck of meeting him, but have heard amazing tales of corks pulled and parties had. His wines have always been charming to me, but in recent years the wines have been fetching very high prices in the auction and rare wine marketplaces, often exceeding a thousand dollars a bottle. Certainly they are quire rare, as Trollat ceased producing after the 2005 vintage upon retiring. But purely judging on the quality of the wines, I struggle with accepting the prices of these. So this occasion to taste an aged bottle in good condition was a treat, especially as it was sourced directly from the Trollat estate.

The wine was delicious, not the most complex example of Syrah by any means but still had lots of character and intensity on the palate. Dried black olives, rosemary and bell pepper spice, lot’s of gamey notes. Not a ton of fruit but a hint of sweetness that may well have come from chaptalization. Medium length on the palate, but certainly not short on intensity in the length. Yet this had the distinct feeling of what I like to call a ‘country wine’ or vin de pays in French, which is to say it was charming and not simple, yet not overtly complex or serious.

In the wine trade bottles like these are often referred to as ‘unicorn wines’, to invoke how rare they are. But from my perspective, this was more of a lunch wine, and it served its purpose marvelously.

Gonon Dinner at Houseman

February 8, 2022
by Edouard Bourgeois

Finding the wines of Jean Gonon can easily become a real mission, as sommeliers and a few savvy wine geeks hunt down anything Gonon. Although these bottles are typically not common, classic American wine collectors typically fill their cellar shelves with famous Bordeaux chateaux, well-known Burgundies along with cult Napa Cabs. Even within its own region of the Northern Rhône Valley, Domaine Pierre Gonon, located in Mauves, remains a hidden gem that produces the humble Saint-Joseph appellation. A growing number of Syrah lovers are falling in love with these intensely perfumed wines. The appellation has been subject to criticism since 1971, when the National Institute of Appellation d’Origine (INAO) decided to extend the appellation borders all the way north by Côte-Rôtie, resulting in a very uneven quality among the wines produced under the name Saint-Joseph. The heart of Saint-Joseph, which has been the historic area of the appellation, is where the Gonon family has been making wine since 1956. Their privileged location sits on top of a precious granitic bedrock and vineyards are planted on terraced hillsides, providing excellent exposure, airflow, and drainage. Chez Gonon, everything is done by hand and with extreme care. The domaine has been organic since 2004 and certified in 2013. One of the characteristics of the domaine is the generous inclusion of whole clusters during the fermentation process. I find that Northern Syrah can sometimes be too robust for my taste, with burnt aromas and a slight bitterness. I have never felt that way about any of the wines made by Jean Gonon. Their signature is a delicate but generous perfume of violets, barbeque smoke and olive tapenade with a discreet hint of black pepper. What also amazes me is how delicious the wines are whether young or old.

Speaking of age, on Tuesday at restaurant Houseman, we opened no less than 11 vintages of Saint-Joseph rouge and 2 white Saint Joseph from the lieux dit “Les Oliviers”.

Saint-Joseph makes a small proportion of white wine from Marsanne and Roussanne. Unsurprisingly, Gonon’s version is superb. Concentrated wines with typical herbaceous aromatics and a waxy texture, driven by rather low acidity and a mineral finish.

The youngest red wine, a 2018, was impressive, bright and juicy. As we tasted older wines, subtle nuances defined each vintage while keeping the unmistakable signature of Gonon. Surprisingly, the 2012 appeared to be clearly more advanced, entering another phase of its age with intriguing but superb tertiary aromas of tree moss and forest floor. 2009 and 2010, heralded for their greatness in the region, were more concentrated and powerful, promising the ability to age for another decade or two, if not more. The oldest wine, a 2007, was still graceful and suave. Not a single faux pas in the lineup made for a very memorable night among friends and Syrah enthusiasts.