October 2025
Shape and Shadow - France in the Autumnal Glow
Bacco’s Wine Club
October 2025
As the air turns sharper and daylight pulls in at the edges, we start to look for wines with a little more depth — bottles that feel built for the season ahead
In the northern Rhône, the hills of Saint-Joseph catch that same autumn light, slanting across granite terraces lined with Syrah, Marsanne, and Roussanne. The soils are poor, the slopes steep, and the wines — when made with patience — carry both power and restraint.
A little further north in the Loire, Cabernet Franc finds its balance in limestone and chalk, where ripeness meets a clean, mineral edge.
This month’s selections — two from Jean-Louis Chave and one from Domaine du Bel Air — trace that line between clarity and warmth. They show structure not as austerity, but as character: the tension that keeps a wine alive long after the glass is set down.
These are quiet, confident wines — made by people who know that what’s held back often says as much as what’s revealed.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave
‘Circa
St. Joseph
Blanc’
Roussane, Marsanne
Mauves, St. Joseph,
Rhône Valley
France
Up in the hills above the Rhône, you see vines clinging to broken bits of granite — not much soil to speak of, just rock and roots. Chave’s Circa comes from those slopes, mostly Marsanne with a smaller piece of Roussanne. It’s not a loud wine, but it has presence. You get that faint nutty scent, some fennel and lemon peel, a touch of wax. The texture is what makes it — smooth at first, then it firms up, the way good white Rhône does when the acidity finally shows itself.
It’s the kind of bottle that changes with air. Let it warm a little and you start tasting the hillside itself — stony, herbal, a little honeyed around the edges.
What to pair it with:
Roast chicken, grilled vegetables, or a simple risotto with mushrooms.
Domaine du Bel Air
‘Jour de Soif’
Cabernet Franc,
Bourgeil,
Loire Valley,
France
Certified Organic/ 12.5%
Pierre and Rodolphe Gauthier have been farming these tuffeau-limestone slopes for generations, and Jour de Soif is their most easygoing expression.
Everything is hand-harvested and fermented with native yeasts; nothing gets in the way of the fruit.
It smells like just-picked berries and fresh herbs, with that faint green edge that makes good Loire Franc so refreshing. Light, honest, and a little wild — the kind of red you can chill down and pour freely.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave
‘Offerus St. Joseph Rouge’
Syrah,
Mauves, St. Joseph,
Rhône Valley
France
13% ABV
The reds from these hills always smell like the place — smoke, pepper, dark fruit, and that faint iron note from granite. Offerus comes from parcels Jean-Louis Chave works with up and down Saint-Joseph, all blended and raised in Mauves.
It’s lively and firm, not heavy — the kind of Syrah that feels cool even when the weather isn’t. A few minutes of air and it stretches out, showing more red fruit and spice than you’d expect at first pour.
Pair it with: roast lamb, grilled sausage, or lentils cooked down with herbs and wine
In Sum
Taken together, these three wines demonstrate how balance is perceived differently depending on one's perspective in France. Chave’s Syrah has that grounded power you only get from granite and patience; Bel Air’s Jour de Soif shows Cabernet Franc at its most alive and unguarded; and Circa reminds you that white Rhône can carry texture without losing its edge.
They’re wines built on feel more than flavor — each one steady, expressive, and comfortable in its own rhythm. A good reminder that structure isn’t stiffness; it’s the quiet thing that makes a wine worth coming back to.