Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos is a solid step up and has a perfumed, ripe, floral, singular style. Red and black berries, black licorice, flowers, leather, and some meaty nuances all define the aromatics, and it's another sun-kissed yet elegant, balanced effort. It has plenty of tannins and should age for a solid 10-15 years. Drink 2025-2040.
-
James Suckling
This single-vineyard Crozes-Hermitage has excellent integration of fresh plum fruit and spicy oak with a lot of licorice and some meaty complexity. A touch of something balsamic develops in the glass. Impressive concentration for just 12.5% alcohol, the tannins building to an imposing crescendo. A pure syrah matured exclusively in Burgundian oak casks, of which 20% were new. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.
-
Wine Spectator
A seductive core of red fruit is flanked by cigar box and pepper on a silky palate amply dusted in graphite, cured meat and sandalwood smoke. Simmers with inner density and energy yet manages to stay light on its feet as this stretches on and on. Harmonious and seamless.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a slightly colder place than Les Grands Chemins, the 2022 Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos is more elegant and open at this stage, revealing a complex, elegant bouquet of dark berries, flowers and cherries. Moderately weighted and round, it's layered and well-balanced with a juicy core of fruit supported by velvety tannins. This rendition is sweeter and slightly oakier than others, well-crafted and marked by a distinctive signature of elegance and freshness. Matured for 14 months entirely in barrels, 30% of which are new.
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.