Winemaker Notes
In 2016, the grapes arrived in the cellar with beautiful balance and freshness.The color is of an intense black. The nose shows a delicate but complex bouquet of aromas: pretty notes of black fruit (blackcurrant, blackberries), smoked and grilled notes and sweet spices. In the mouth, the attack is full of freshness, dense, with fine tannins and beautiful aromas with subtle notes of ageing and red and black fruit. A perfect expression of this terroir.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From two sites located in Crozes, one near the Pont l’Isère and the other near Beaumont Monteux, the 2016 Crozes Hermitage spent 12-18 months in a mix of used barrels. It offers terrific blackberry and cherry fruits intermixed with lots of peppery herbs, spice, and earthy minerality. Deep, layered, and pure on the palate, with medium-bodied richness and polished tannins, it's a rocking wine from this estate.
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Wine & Spirits
Guillaume Sorrel of Domaine Sorrel in Hermitage and viticulturalist Alexandre Caso founded this winery in 2009, joined by Nicolas Jaboulet of Maison Nicolas Perrin in 2015. This 2016 is silky and firm, with dark-red fruit under scents of rose, rooibos tea and lots of black-pepper spice. The firmness of the acidity and the salty finish make it especially appealing to drink now with roast duck or goose.
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Wine Spectator
A fresh, mineral-driven style, with sanguine and iron notes running from start to finish while cherry, red currant and raspberry fruit keeps pace. Mouthwatering finish.
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James Suckling
Slightly reduced, red fruit and wild herbs with dried-rose florals. Bright, medium-bodied palate, where acidity is a feature. Tangy raspberries hold the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Darker in hue and more serious in style than the négociant bottling, the 2016 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine les Alexandrins delivers pungent notes of asphalt, black olives and roasted meat, plus fresh red currants and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's fresh and mouthwatering on the finish, inviting you back for another sip. Nicely done.
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.