TN: 17 Ramonet Clos Saint-Jean rouge

what’s all the fuss about? So I opened a 2017 Ramonet red, Clos Saint-Jean. Now I understand. Dilute color, super fruit aromas raft from the glass, pretty cherry, raspberry, and strawberry flavors on the palate, pleasing herbal notes, intense yet lean, super drive and lift, a very elegant mid weight wine that echoes on the finish. It’ll never win a big wine contest but it’s very pleasing for dinner tonight. Hasn’t shut down at all.

Love me some subtle elegant pretty wines!

'17s are so yummy and Ramonet’s rouges are so pretty in most vintages - a winning combo.

Uh oh. Fortunately, the lighter body of these wines likely will keep them from ever getting too popular.

I love this wine.

With my December deliveries from the west coast I’ve been able to try Jean-Marc Pillot and Paul Pillot’s version of the same wine in the last couple of weeks, and even though I thought Paul Pillot’s CSJ was qualitatively on par with Ramonet, it was missing that herbal quality and restraint that I like so much in the Ramonet. I wondered if it’s partly a difference of stems inclusion. Some bottle variation or transport effect with the Ramonet '17 for me though, mine was warmer and more generous than this, more like the 2010 I had recently.

Do the Ramonet reds generally use stems? I’ve had the C-M villages twice from different vintages. One seemed to have a bit of a stemmy streak and the other more recent one (2017), didn’t seem to have much in that regard.

I have no idea, Chris, and want to look into that…and I agree, unlike Alan’s and unlike previous vintages I have, I didn’t notice that as much in '17.

I drank the Pillot CSJ last night and was struck by the level of oak/vanilla. Not sure if it’s new oak or stems (or both) but it was certainly not my cup of tea.

yeah that’s what I thought when I had the 07 pillot and everyone said that had been addressed in the newer vintages, apparently not.

'13 Paul Pillot last night had no noticeable oakiness other than a touch more char than I prefer, which I’ve also heard attributed to reduction. A relatively dark and full-bodied wine that was starting to show just a bit of development.

Edit: What a geek forum, three of us drinking Chassagne CSJ rouge on the same day.