One of our best discoveries is the relatively new Domaine Jolivet on the northern Rhône. Bastien Jolivet returned to his parents' estate after a few years of wine-growing in France and abroad and began marketing the wines himself with the 2014 vintage, which mainly grow in the AOP Saint-Joseph.
There is a white wine and two reds from this AOP, the flagship wine is the Saint-Joseph "1907", whose old vines grow in a plot with a vineyard hut dating from 1907.
As a starter, there is the Cuvée de Louis in red and white, which grow a little outside the AOP boundary and therefore have to make do with the legal designation "Vin de France".
The Jolivet wines are impressively clear and brilliant, powerful, but always vinified with perfectly ripe grapes and fine tannins, there is no heaviness in the wines due to overripeness. Bastian Jolivet will cause a sensation in the wine world, we are sure of that.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has now also discovered the Jolivet wines, the white St. Joseph Clef de Sol received 92/100, the red l’Instince 89-91/100 and the "1907" (incorrectly referred to as "Vieilles Vignes" by Parker) received a whopping 92-94/100. Not bad for a newcomer!