Winemaker Notes
This wine has a deep garnet color with purplish hues. The first nose is complex and after a slight aeration it releases aromas of stewed small black fruits and candied cherry. On the palate, we detect a nice acidity with well-present and structured tannins. This wine offers aromas of black fruits as well as toasted notes on the finish. Complex and well balanced, the finish is long.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another sensational value is the 2018 Côtes Du Rhône Village Shyrus, which is all Syrah that will spend a year in barrel. Deep ruby/purple-colored with notes of blue fruits, cassis, violets, and pepper, it’s more medium-bodied, with terrific purity and fine tannins. It’s a lot of wine for 16 bucks.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The inky-hued 2018 Cotes du Rhone Villages Vaison la Romaine Shyrus looks to be one of the standout cuvées from Fond Croze this year. It's peppery and slightly herbal on the nose, with potent cassis and blueberry fruit, then ripe yet structured on the medium to full-bodied palate. It's all Syrah, from a village better known for its market and Roman ruins than its wines, but this is one terrific Southern Rhône Syrah, with lingering black olives and silk on the fresh-tasting finish.
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.”
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.