2003 Crozes Hermitage

(here the yield was kept to 19 hectoliters per hectare more by drought than by spring fruit or sheer summer heat, according to Graillot) Deep, saturated medium ruby. Porty aromas of blackberry pastille, licorice and roasted peppers; perhaps a bit imprecise after the recent bottling. Sweet, supple, broad and agreeable, with very sweet flavors of dark fruits and exotic spices. Not flat but clearly very ripe. Finishes with solid tannic spine and lush flavors of black and blue fruits and bitter chocolate. Graillot vinified whole clusters, which he believes gave the wine more tannic structure without introducing any vegetility. A sample from a bottle open for 24 hours showed somewhat drier tannins but better mid-palate precision of flavor.