Winemaker Notes
Beautiful deep-purple color with shiny reflections. Precise and aromatic, the nose is typical of Syrah on this stony plain of Crozes-Hermitage with notes of small red and black fruit and pepper. All in delicacy, the mouth offers a silky tannic structure and beautiful aromas of smooth red fruit. A wine with great elegance.
This wine will go wonderfully with grilled meats..
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Creamy and suave, with a winey layer of cassis and salty plum woven with dried tobacco, forest floor and grilled anise. Supple, with a brush of oak toast on the ripe, rich, chalky mineral–lined finish. Drink now through 2030.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Ripe berries, leather, savory flowers, and blood orange notes emerge from the 2023 Crozes-Hermitage, a charming, forward Crozes-Hermitage that's very much in the ripe, perfumed, already expressive style of the vintage. It's medium-bodied, nicely textured, and balanced, with a complex, satisfying profile that's ready to go.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Crozes-Hermitage is Northern Rhone’s largest appellation, surrounding the steep granite faces of Hermitage to its north and south. Here the rolling vineyards are less extreme and its soils, rich in clay-limestone and alluvial matter, produce Syrahs that range from fruity and charming to lush and seductive. The Syrahs of Crozes-Hermitage have more mass than those from St. Joseph but are less intense than those from Hermitage. While many are intended for early consumption, some of the best Syrahs from Crozes-Hermitage will age beautifully for 5-10 years.
Up to 15% of white grapes may theoretically be added to red Crozes at the time of fermentation but whether this is done or not depends on the decision of the winemaker. The best Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs will be fleshy with black fruit (currant, blackberry and black cherry) and bay leaf qualities, notes of tar and stone, and a well-concentrated finish of smooth tannins.
About a tenth of the wine produced in Crozes-Hermitage is white, primarily composed of Marsanne supplemented by smaller amounts of Roussanne.