Highly-rated 93-95pt JebDunnuck.com - "As always, the 2022 Saint Joseph Les Royes is more focused and chiseled, with a cooler vibe in its black and blue fruits as well as liquid violets, gunpowder, and crushed stone-like minerality. It's medium to full-bodied, has rock-solid concentration, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It's another sensational Saint Joseph from this team that will benefit from just a few years of bottle age." March 2024

A remarkable vintage, the Royes appeals with its aromatic complexity: smoky and spicy notes, elegant and very present tannins, a full mouth and a beautiful length. This vintage concentrates a Syrah with an assertive character. Located in a picturesque valley, the vines grow alongside Mediterranean vegetation. This vineyard is a spectacular site in Saint Joseph, facing due south, on the edge of Cornas. Spectacular sloping hillsides, sheltered from the north winds.

The origins of the Courbis family estate date back to the 16th century. More recently, the brothers Dominique and Laurent Courbis succeeded their father, Maurice, in the early 1990s. Working from their gravity fed winery built into the slopes of St Joseph, the two are at the forefront of modern winemaking in the Northern Rhone. Grapes are hand harvested and 100 percent de-stemmed.The Syrahs are vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel. Timings vary across the range. Lighter red wines are matured in a mix of tank and used barriques while top Cornas and St Joseph see a mix of new and one year old oak.