Winemaker Notes
Laurent Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Les Pontaix Blanc is from the original Crozes villages of Crozes-Hermitage. A single steep site found on the backside of the Hermitage hill. Sits above the Pontaix Rouge parcel, very steep. Grown on loess. 60+ year old vines. Indigenous yeast. Fermented and aged in barrel and demi-muids (20% new)
Blend: 100% Marsanne
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Crozes-Hermitage Les Pontaix Blanc is as gourmand as the red rendition, revealing aromas of white peach, ripe pear, almond blossom and spring flowers mingled with minty notes. Medium- to full-bodied, round and generous, it’s enveloping and seamless, built around a lively, fresh core of fruit and concluding with a mouthwatering finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Pontaix is showing really well. Intense pear, lemon flesh, yellow apple, blossom and toasty subtleties all come alive. Touching the medium-bodied palate with bright freshness, the 2023 easily outperforms the 2022. A long, juicy finish neatly wraps it up.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Orchard fruits, orange blossom, spice, sappy herbs, and mint all define the 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Les Pontaix Blanc, a slightly more complex release than the Hauterives Blanc. Medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, it has a fresh, focused mouthfeel with impressive purity and class.
One of the star whites of the Rhône Valley and ubiquitous throughout southern France, historically vignerons have favored Marsanne for its hardy and productive vines. It can make a fruity and delicious single varietal wine as well as a serious, full-bodied version with amazing aging potential. The best examples of Marsanne come from the northern Rhone appellations where it is also blended with Roussanne. Sommelier Secret—Some of the oldest Marsanne vines in the entire world exist not in France but in Australia, in the Victoria region. Settlers planted it in the mid to late 1800s, calling it “white Hermitage.”
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.