2016 Domaine du Bois de Saint-Jean La Ballade des Angles Vacqueyras 750 ml

Domaine du Bois de Saint Jean deserves to be on the radar of every wine lover, and we’d argue there’s no better introduction than their 2016 La Ballade des Anglès Vacqueyras, a smooth and powerful red that outscored high-profile Châteauneuf-du-Papes in the landmark 2016 vintage—including Château Fortia and Château La Nerthe, and tying with Wine Access favorite Xavier Vignon. 

Dark, powerful, and ready to impress from the first sip, the 2016 led Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate to call it “Undoubtedly one of the top Vacqueyras of the vintage.” That’s really saying something, considering the 2016 season was arguably the Southern Rhône’s best in a century.

There are only so many great bargains left from that season, so we pulled out all the stops to get the exclusive on this boldly generous Grenache-Syrah blend, a full-bodied powerhouse laced with spice and herbs de Provence. Today, while Châteauneuf-du-Papes and similar-pedigree reds will cost you $75+, the bottle Rhône expert Jeb Dunnuck calls a “smoking good wine” is far less.  

Initially, the La Ballade des Anglès Vacqueyras took us by surprise, poured at Greek restaurant Kokkari in San Francisco by a journalist friend who’d brought the bottle back from her travels. Plush and ripe with precise sandalwood and cedar accents, we knew it was perfect for our devoted faction of Rhône devotees—this is a wine that blends plush modernism with classic Rhône elegance and loads of personality.

A few minutes later we were on the phone with Xavier and Vincent, the two brothers who run the historic Domaine du Bois de Saint Jean, and by the end of the call we’d secured an allocation. 

The Anglès family has been established in Jonquerettes since 1650. The first vineyards for the domaine were planted in the early 1900s by the great-grandfather of the current owners. The estate was officially formed by 1986, and quickly established a reputation for muscular, earthy wines of fantastic integrity.

In the last decade, Xavier and Vincent began acquiring small parcels in Vacqueyras, and in 2016, their twelve acres of 40-year-old vines produced a small batch of magically floral and rich Grenache and terrifically concentrated, plump Syrah. Sourced from the base of the Dentelles de Montmirail, fossil-rich Urgonian limestone lends this powerful wine its refinement, with maturation in stainless steel capturing the tremendous floral and fruit purity.

With 94 points, this is a steal from one of the greatest Southern Rhône vintages in decades.