Domaine de Gachon (Pascal Perrier), St Joseph

St Joseph 's Pascal Perrier was well on his way to being recognised as one of the great winemakers of the Northern Rhône when, in 1993, the hillside above his winery collapsed destroying most of his installations. This is not Pascal's first disaster: his father died in a tractor accident in 1966 and Pascal was thrown into winemaking, aged 13.

Fortunately, M. Perrier has recovered from his latest setback and is once again producing world-class wines from his 5 hectare St Joseph holdings. Wines are vinified in a variety of tanks: enamel, fibreglass and stainless steel. One suspects this is not the result of experimentation with different plots of Syrah going into different tanks but, rather, it has more to do with the pot luck results of his peasant approach. The resulting wines, perfectly described by John Livingstone-Learmonth as "wild and rather unpredictable" convey this attitude with some vintages such as 1998 and 1999 being extremely successful whilst some are best forgotten about. These  are sold off to firms such as Delas and Jaboulet.

After numerous failed attempts at making contact by telephone, I visited Pascal Perrier and discovered a great character complete with a moustache that only a Frenchman can carry off. Oblivious to the world outside, he sets his own pace and will not be hurried. Even his means of transport is a clapped-out old van from which I wondered whether I would return as Pascal seemed to concentrate more on hailing his hillside neighbours and lighting numerous Gauloises cigarettes than on the scenic road he had taken me on to his new winery. The potential peril was well worth it to discover such wines.

Purchasers of these wines will see immediately the peasant approach of Pascal Perrier. The label of the 1998 (sold out) was a fairly well-disguised 1996 label but the 1999 label is a re-used 1997 with the "7" overwritten with a "9" in ballpoint! Anyone buying these wines who would like to know more about this aspect of Pascal's approach to life will learn some amusing tales!