2020 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Les Varonniers

Lastly, the 2020 Crozes Ermitage Les Varonniers comes from a cooler, granite terroir just beside Hermitage. All destemmed Syrah brought up in 20% new French oak, it's slightly tight and closed aromatically yet has solid purity in its darker, cassis and currant-like fruit as well as truffly earth and gunpowder nuances. This ripe, powerful, structured Crozes has all the right stuff, yet it might take a decade to hit maturity. The alcohol here is a sound 13.5% with a pH of 3.8. It's most likely the Crozes of the vintage and is a brilliant wine readers will love to have in the cellar.

Inky violet. A wild, smoke- and spice-accented bouquet evokes kirsch, cassis, smoked meat, olive and succulent herbs, with mineral and floral notes emerging as the wine opens up. Firm, sharply etched black and blue fruit flavors slowly unfold with air and pick up hints of candied violet, espresso and black pepper. Finishes impressively long and precise, with gripping tannins and repeating game and mineral notes. 25% new oak.

The 2020 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers is young and unevolved, yet I still love it. Full-bodied aromas and flavors of blueberries, raspberries, violets, and some rocky mineral notes define this structured yet incredibly pure Crozes Hermitage. As with the 2019, it has more than a passing resemblance to a top Hermitage.