Winemaker Notes
Syrah, with its deep flavors and firm tannins, is a natural match for grilled or smoked meat and dishes featuring herbs, roasted mushrooms, and onions. Seared venison or beef with black pepper and thyme or a Moroccan tagine of pigeon or chicken are complimented by the spicy characteristic of Syrah.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2016 Crozes Hermitage, which comes from granite terroirs located behind Hermitage hill. It offers layers of blackberry fruit, olive tapenade, ground pepper, and violet aromas and flavors. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and seamless, it shows the purity and finesse that’s the hallmark of this vintage.
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James Suckling
White pepper and graphite here and a very spicy, stony attitude. Blackberries, a fragrant edge and plenty of sweet spice. The palate delivers a succulent array of bright, red and black fruit. Supple, even and long.
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Wine Spectator
Solidly built, with mocha and anise notes framing a core of blackberry and plum paste flavors. A good graphite edge through the finish adds a little oomph. Drink now through 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Proprietor Louis Barruol sourced his 2016 Crozes Hermitage from the commune of Gervans, which has particularly granitic soils. It's smoky and refined, with cherry and cassis fruit underscored by hints of dried herbs and meaty elements. With its ample fruit and fine-grained tannins, it's already drinking well—and should do so for at least another 4-5 years.
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.