Domaine Yves Cuilleron Saint Joseph 'Les Pierres Sèches' Syrah 375ml 2024

Domaine Yves Cuilleron Saint Joseph 'Les Pierres Sèches' Syrah comes here in a half bottle, sized for two glasses instead of six.

Terracing built from stacked stone gives the cuvée its title, and fruit is assembled from a handful of sites inside the appellation. Whole bunches go through a partial destemming, ferment on indigenous yeasts in open vessels, then spend time in wood before the wine is bottled.

Peppery red berry fruit sits on a light, supple frame with gentle grip and a clean finish. The small format suits one or two people; chill it to 15°C and serve with charcuterie or a weeknight roast.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: Red Wine
Style: Medium-bodied, dry
Grape Varietal: Syrah 100%
Tastes Like: Northern Rhône Syrah in its lighter, more approachable form
Alcohol Percentage: 12.5%
Size: 375mL (half bottle)
Appellation: Saint-Joseph AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée: France's protected appellation system; Saint-Joseph runs down the west bank of the Rhône from Chavanay in the north to near Valence, for reds from Syrah and whites from Marsanne and Roussanne)
Region: Saint-Joseph, northern Rhône, France
Terroir: The domaine's northern Saint-Joseph parcels on the hillsides around Chavanay, on shallow, sandy granite held up by dry-stone walls
Aging: 18 months in barriques
Serving Temperature: 15-17°C

Domaine Yves Cuilleron is a family estate at Chavanay, in the northern Rhône valley between Condrieu and Saint-Joseph. Yves's grandfather Claude Cuilleron founded it in 1920 and began bottling the wines in 1947; Yves's uncle Antoine took over in 1960, and Yves took charge in 1987 with just 3.5 hectares in Condrieu and Saint-Joseph. He made his first Côte-Rôtie in 1988, bought vines in Saint-Péray and Cornas in 2006 and in Crozes-Hermitage from 2012, and the domaine now makes wine across six of the northern Rhône's appellations. In 1996 Yves also co-founded Les Vins de Vienne with two neighbouring growers, Pierre Gaillard and François Villard.

Les Pierres Sèches comes from the domaine's northern Saint-Joseph parcels on the steep hillsides around Chavanay. The name means "dry stones", after the dry-stone walls that hold up the terraces, and the vines grow in shallow, sandy granite. The wine is aged for 18 months in barriques. The 2024 half bottle suits a Lyonnais bouchon-style meal for two.

Beef: Poached beef tongue with a sharp gherkin and caper sauce
Lamb: Lamb cutlets with rosemary and white beans
Starters: Jambon persillé with crusty bread
Vegetarian: Mushroom and chestnut ragout on soft polenta

Saint-Marcellin: Soft cow's milk cheese from the Isère, a fixture of Lyon's bouchons
Abondance: Firm Alpine cheese from the Haute-Savoie
Banon: Goat's cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves, from further down the Rhône
Bleu d'Auvergne: Creamy blue from the Massif Central

Langue de Bœuf Sauce Piquante (Beef Tongue with Piquant Sauce)

Ingredients (Serves 6):

• 1 beef tongue (about 1.2kg)
• 1 onion studded with 2 cloves
• 2 carrots, 1 leek and 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
• 1 bouquet garni
• 30g butter
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 125mL white wine vinegar
• 400mL of the cooking stock
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 6 cornichons, chopped
• 1 tbsp capers
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley and tarragon
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Soak the tongue in cold water for 2 hours, then put it in a large pot with the onion, vegetables, bouquet garni and 1 tbsp salt. Cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 3 hours, until a skewer slides in easily.
2. Lift out the tongue, peel off the skin while it is still warm and trim away any gristle at the root. Keep warm in a little of the stock.
3. For the sauce, melt the butter and soften the shallots for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, then add the vinegar and boil until reduced by half.
4. Whisk in 400mL of the stock and the tomato paste and simmer for 15 minutes until lightly thickened.
5. Add the cornichons, capers and herbs and season.
6. Slice the tongue thickly, spoon over the sauce and serve with steamed potatoes.

Beef tongue with sauce piquante is a classic of the Lyonnais bouchon, the city's traditional family-run bistro. The sharp sauce of vinegar, gherkins and capers needs a red with fresh acidity, and a young Saint-Joseph Syrah has just that, with enough body for the rich, tender meat.