Winemaker Notes
Granite slopes rather than flatlands give Saint Cosme's Crozes-Hermitage greater structure and complexity. The wine shows classic aromas and flavors of black fruits, smoked bacon, black peppercorn, and incense.
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.
Blend: 100% Syrah
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A harmonious, round and textural Crozes-Hermitage. Aromas of dark cherries, dried herbs, cassis and violets on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannin and a vivid core of peppercorns through the palate. A caressing texture combines with the lively, spicy character of the mid-palate. Precise and pure. More compact in the finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Polished and stylish, with a winey core of red currant enrobed in well-integrated notes of oak spice and toasty cedar. A spine of iron keeps this bolt upright and drives the length, guided by refined tannins. Displays concentration and earthy depth. Drink now through 2030. 268 cases imported.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Crozes-Hermitage shows plenty of red and black fruits, spice, and beautiful minerality intermixed with leather and meaty notes that emerge with air. Medium-bodied and seamless on the palate, with polished tannins.
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.