This morning’s daily news roundup on the Terroirist blog points to this profile on Hervé Souhaut, a French winemaker whose wines I’ve only recently tasted. Wine Spectator writer James Molesworth (who I also recommend following on Instagram) sums up these wines like this (added emphasis is mine):

This was my first visit to Hervé Souhaut and Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet, a relative newcomer which has rapidly become a darling among the hipster set for its pepper- and violet-infused unoaked Syrahs.

Does that mean I (too) have fallen in with this crowd? Regardless, I’ve now sipped the St. Joseph Syrah twice, and both times really enjoyed it. The flavors are not overbearing and there’s an elegant not-quite-full-bodied mouthfeel. It won’t stop you if you’re engaged in conversations with friends, but it has enough interest that when you’re ready to take a break from the mindless chit-chat, it will give you something to pay attention to and more importantly, smile.

You know that feeling when you sip a wine and a grin slowly takes over your face while a warmth makes it way down to your belly as you let out a quiet sigh of happiness? Yeah, that one.

If you’d like to know more about these wines, Molesworth does a good job at introducing the reader to Mssr. Souhaut, and discussing the 2013s.

Contrary to my post earlier this week about the “ecology” of oak, these wines do their best to avoid the stuff:

“I just don’t like the taste of oak, and don’t want the wines marked by oak,” said Hervé with a light shrug.

That’s alright with me: Sometimes you feel like an oak, sometimes you don’t.

Read the full story here: Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth: Unique Wines on the Outskirts of the Rhône