2016 Crozes Hermitage

The 2016 Crozes Hermitage from this terrific producer offers a big blast of classic Crozes -- dark fruits, earth, truffle, olive, and pepper on the nose. This is followed by a medium-bodied, rounded, nicely concentrated effort that has good acidity, building tannins, and a great finish. An incredibly successful wine in this vintage, it will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for 7-8 years. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the La Guiraude from this terrific Crozes estate, which was founded by Alain in 1985. Today, he’s assisted by his son Maxime, who took over the winemaking in 2008. Maxime also releases his own wines under his Domaine Equis label, which are also included in this report.

Completely whole cluster as always, the 2016 Crozes Hermitage comes across as slightly ashy and vegetal, yet it has enough green olive, cola and raspberry notes to possess a sense of balance. It's medium to full-bodied, with a silky mouthfeel and a long finish.

This makes two years in a row this estate has overachieved with its entry-level wine. The 2016 Crozes Hermitage shows a classic aromatic profile of cracked pepper and black cherry fruit. Medium to full-bodied, this wine is raised mostly in tank, with about 25% going into wood. It's silky in texture, with a long, spice-driven finish.