Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Simply one of the best (if not the best) Crozes Hermitage I've ever tasted, Belle's 2015 Crozes Hermitage Roche Pierre is a huge, full-bodied wine with immense richness and unfathomable length. Crushed stone and black olive aromas set the scene, then masses of fine tannins leave behind an indelible yet velvety imprint on the palate. Mocha, stone and spice elements whirl together on the finish, transporting the taster to gnarly old vines on craggy granite slopes. The Belle family treats this wine like Hermitage, and in this vintage, it even surpasses their Hermitage. Wow.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship cuvée is the 2016 Crozes Hermitage Roche Pierre, which spent two years in 30% new French oak. It offers a layered, multi-dimensional, full-bodied texture as well as classic notes of plums, blackberries, ground pepper, and incense. This complex beauty has subtle oak, a wealth of fruit, and terrific balance. Give bottles a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.
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.