Winemaker Notes
Beautiful purple-red, dense color. The nose develops fresh aromas of violet and red fruit with a mineral touch and a hint of spice like grey pepper. On the palate, there is great balance between freshness and density, this wine reveals silky tannins and beautiful aromas of liquorice and red fruit, extending on notes of violets. The perfect combination of balance and richness.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Plush and smoky, with smoldering bay leaf and tobacco notes amid steeped plum and blackberry fruit flavors. Black tea and sanguine elements curl through the seductive finish. Best from 2020 through 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With a bit more stuffing and texture than the charming 2016, the 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Maison les Alexandrins should prove to be superior. There's an herbal, grassy note on the nose but also potent black cherry fruit. It's full-bodied, with a creamy, plush texture on the mid-palate that turns velvety on the long finish.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Crozes Hermitage sports a saturated purple color as well as a big mouthful of blackberry and black cherry fruits, incense, and peppery herb aromas and flavors. It has good acidity, medium body, present tannins, and plenty of length, all making for an outstanding, high-quality wine that will keep for 6-7 years.
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.