St. Joseph is the largest appellation in the Northern Rhone of France known for the production of some of the highest quality Syrah production in the world. And Natacha Chave is the daughter of power couple Nicole and Bernard Chave, who made their mark in the 1970s with their high-quality organic wines. It was expected that both Natacha and brother Yann Chave would create an equally powerful impressive partnership, so it came as a surprise to Chave fans when in 2004, at the age of 28, she decided to branch out and create her own Domaine: Aleofane. Translating to “gem of truth” is a series of small plots in Crozes Hermitages and the more Northern St Joseph area. It is an organic and biodynamic plot that is a manual labour of love, as all her vineyard work is meticulously done by hand with sulphur use being kept to an absolute minimum and indigenous yeasts used. The wines are bottled with no fining or filtration. When combating problems in the vineyard, she prepares holistic treatments from spices, oils, and plants.

A dense but elegant wine with floral aromas of violet, thyme, and rosemary followed a powerfully smooth palate of dark red plum, cherry, pepper, mocha and mint. 

Get this wine if you appreciate the narrative of the lead talent breaking up the band. Enjoy while taking in the musical “DreamGirls” and eating pineapple and molasses spareribs. Just don’t forget that “haters gonna hate”!