Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Since 2015, Nicolas Jaboulet has been working with Guillaume Sorrel and Alexandre Caso, having merged their companies (Maison Nicolas Perrin and Domaine Les Alexandrins). They blend this Hermitage blanc from marsanne and roussanne grown in the lieux-dits Maison Blanche and Roucoules. If you open it now, give it time to blossom in the glass: What starts out bright and lemony turns floral and full-bodied, the wine smooth, round and luxurious in its marzipan richness. All the while, tangy acidity keeps the wine feeling fresh and long. As delicious as that may sound, it still needs a few years in the cellar to fully realize its details.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and youthfully vibrant in feel, with a core of plum and blackberry compote flavors, lined with singed apple wood, tar and anise notes. The fruit has a pleasant sappy edge on the finish. Best from 2020 through 2025.
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.