2022 Hermitage Ligne de Crete

First made in 2015, the 2022 Hermitage Ligne De Crete Les Grandes Vignes is all Syrah that was 20% destemmed and brought up all in barrels, with 30% being new. It brings another level of everything and has a killer perfume of smoky black and blue fruits, crushed stone, new leather, and graphite. This deep, rich, full-bodied effort has a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and perfect balance. While it already offers pleasure, it deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will have 2-3 decades of overall longevity. It's an absolute dream of an Hermitage! Drink 2033-2063. Founded in 1835, Delas Frères is unquestionably one of the historic houses of the Northern Rhône and remains a major presence today, with 30 hectares of estate vineyards spread across Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and Saint Joseph. The estate owns 10 hectares on the Hermitage hill, 18 hectares in Crozes-Hermitage, and 2 hectares in Saint Joseph. In Hermitage, Delas produces two flagship reds: Les Bessards, sourced exclusively from the granite soils of the Bessards lieu-dit, and Domaine des Tourettes, which is a blend of parcels including L'Hermite and Les Grandes Vignes. In addition, they created a new cuvée in 2015, Ligne de Crête Les Grandes Vignes, which comes from a specific selection of vines in the Grandes Vignes lieu-dit and is only produced in top vintages. The white Domaine des Tourettes Blanc comes primarily from Marsanne from the southern portion of Bessards and Les Grandes Vignes, which is unique as this is largely Syrah territory. In Côte Rôtie, La Landonne comes from what is unquestionably one of the greatest vineyards and is from very old vines, while Seigneur de Maugiron is a blend from both the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune sections of the appellation. The Sainte-Épine cuvée in Saint Joseph comes from vines just north of Tournon and is released only in top vintages. In 2020, Delas completed a new gravity-fed winery in Tain-l'Hermitage designed by architect Carl Fredrik Svenstedt. Since 1997, winemaker Jacques Grange has overseen production. A graduate of the University of Dijon and formerly with Michel Chapoutier, Grange has played a key role in elevating quality at Delas, and they're certainly firing on all cylinders today.