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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.4 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 140 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by akspres on 1/26/2024 & rated 90 points: With Haggis of all things - just lovely.
Needed a 90minute decant to open up.
Dried/hung meat on the nose and fresh mountain berries(?) on the palate (krekling på norsk). More proof that this wine in a decent vintage (2008 not so much) can take 15-20 years in the cellar and be better for it. (319 views) | | | Tasted by Anna@WineCellar on 8/27/2023 & rated 90 points: Red with brownish rim, medium intensity. Medium(-) intensity nose, spicy and fresh, developed dark fruit. On the palate a hint of sweetness, medium(+) acidity, medium tannins, medium body. 13%. Spices, dark blue fruit, mature but not dried. After a while, addition of smoked charcuterie. Very good length with a bit drying afterfeel.
Follows over three days, still fresh with accentuated dried fruit, smoke and meaty/charcuterie flavours. (625 views) | | | Tasted by Anna@WineCellar on 4/23/2023 & rated 87 points: Dark red with precipitate, high intensity. Mature, medium intensity nose. Vanilla, powder, red dried fruit, some spicy notes. On the palate a touch of sweetness, high acidity, medium(+) tannins, medium(+) body. 13%. Unsophisticated flavours of dried red fruit. Grainy texture. Drying afterfeel.
Day 2: Just dull dried fruit and leather. (734 views) | | | Tasted by danielito on 3/4/2023 & rated 93 points: Wonderful. Medium weight, strong fruit offset by chalky tannins. Dry but with a hint of sweetness, just what I seek in syrah. (842 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 2/6/2023 & rated 92 points: Final bottle from a full case purchased in 2014 from the Dutch importer. Bottle No. 044293, 13% ABV. Pristine condition. Still going strong, bright and fresh Syrah fruit, lovely definition, minerally and intense, slender and energetic, just starting to hint at tertiary development. Amazing value and still with a future, (2003 views) | | | Tasted by James Kim on 1/19/2023 & rated 92 points: Decanted off sediment for 1h at 6a, then back into bottle and brought to tasting at 7p. Note is at 10:30p. Mild lactic aromas with roasted game meats, blackberries, herbs, olives, bark and a bit of earth. Palate had a lovely balance with a melange of roasted game meats, juicy ripe blackberries, olives, bark, earth and herbs. Light-medium tannins on a medium body with nice acids. Moderate complexity. Also, just delicious. Drinking well now. (691 views) | | | Tasted by Elpaninaro on 1/19/2023: deep red color, cherry and black pepper on the fiesty nose, palate of cherry and dark fruits and seemingly still a lot of oak, very firm and a bit rought and tumble, full body, good finish with a bit of warmth, simple but substantial, I would drink soon.
**+, maybe *** with more airing, ready to go (814 views) | | | Tasted by Ardross on 12/22/2022 & rated 91 points: A much better bottle - no signs of drying out - lovely balance all round . excellent . (578 views) | | | Tasted by christian.tellvik@limab.se on 9/8/2022 & rated 88 points: Dark reddish brown delicious color. Big smell of smoked, forest, mushroom. Elegant, delicious mature character. Hints of forest, twig bark, old bark. A little over (841 views) | | | Tasted by AndersThoresson on 4/16/2022 & rated 92 points: Syrah singing all the notes you like. Packed with chewy small black olives and herbs of every kind. Made the Easter lamb very happy. (1134 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 3/7/2022 & rated 92 points: Tenth bottle from a full case purchased in 2014. Bottle No. 044225, 13% ABV. Pristine condition. Today the news broke that Alain Graillot, viticulteur extraordinaire in Crozes-Hermitage and president of the Académie du Vin de France, passed away on Friday 4 March 2022, aged 77.
This 2010 is testament to his work and to the quality of his terroirs. So bright and fresh at (almost) 12 years of age, a very pure expression of northern Rhône Syrah, flowers and fruit (peach, red berry, cherry), hint of forest floor, black pepper and black olives, linear and transparent, energetic and minerally, neither opulent nor austere, well balanced, firm but finely grained tannins, good resonance and length. Drinking well, still a couple of years in the tank. I paid Euro 18.90 at the time. The vignerons who produce such fine quality at such a decent price are the true heroes of French wine. Just saying... (1867 views) | | | Tasted by lake.vino on 11/14/2021 & rated 94 points: Serious, well made northern Rhone, highlighting the strengths of the 2010 vintage. Nose dripping with bacon fat, violets, olive tapenade, black fruit - plum, black raspberry, even a hint of currant, and almond. Palate big, but incredibly balanced. Still quite tannic, great acid, strong dark fruit still there, herbal - thyme. Long finish and complex here too. Good minerals. Still young (1436 views) | | | Tasted by Anna@WineCellar on 7/17/2021 & rated 90 points: Dark red. Developed, high intensity nose dominated of raw meat, charcuterie, black peppar and dark fruit. A tiny sweetness, medium(+) acidity, medium(+) cooked rice grain tannins, full bodied, 13%. Flavours as in nose. Austere generosity. Very typical. Graillot in perfect shape.
(Day 3; dried fruit added and flavours deepened, still very good.) (1648 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 2/11/2021 & rated 92 points: Ninth bottle from a case purchased in 2014. Bottle No. 044311, 13% ABV. Pristine. So bright and precise and minerally, so energetic and fresh, so youthful - this is really superior Crozes. It is finally starting to develop some tertiary (meaty) complexity, but the focus is still very much on the finely chiselled primary fruit (peach, cherry) and the floral / peppery lift. It is very tight and quite dry - does it lack generosity or does it need more time? I will put my money (i.e. my remaining three bottles) on the latter alternative. Revisit in 2-3 years' time. If anything, more expressive on the second day, with a wonderfully smoky nose. (2633 views) | | | Tasted by dpc123 on 12/25/2020 & rated 93 points: Out of mag. Loved it. Super meaty and peppery with lovely black and red fruits coming through. No rush at all in this format. I opened about 6 hours before Christmas dinner (1709 views) | | | Tasted by Ardross on 11/1/2020 & rated 90 points: Young fruit has faded but now a liquorice and black fruit palate. Longish finish but probably drying out a bit and minded to drink up my last two (1664 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 6/9/2020 & rated 92 points: Eighth bottle from a case purchased in 2014. Bottle no. 044307, 13% ABV. Very similar to my tasting note from 1 January 2020, also slender but with more fruit and generosity. Drinking beautifully, energetic, minerally, fresh and expressive. Impressive length for a humble Crozes. (2518 views) | | | Tasted by winot on 4/18/2020 & rated 91 points: I think this was infanticide. Deep purple red, very youthful appearance. Nose is also mostly primary fruit, very little development. Which isn't to say it's not tasty, it's just still surprisingly primary. As in, if you told me it was a 2017, I'd have believed you. Plummy fruit, tobacco. Bright red-fruited palate, nice, cherry, cassis pastille, some floral/perfume. Very pretty, I just wish I'd have waited another 3-5 years, it's bound to be better. - 91? (1716 views) | | | Tasted by JM_MadTown on 3/23/2020 & rated 87 points: This bottle is much better than my previous one. The fruit, which is primarily sour cherry, is pleasant and the minerality is nice. But the wine seems to be entering its final phase. (1436 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 1/1/2020 & rated 91 points: Youthful appearance for age and appellation, sombre colour, just starting to brown at the edges; lovely expression on the nose, fresh and youthful, pure and precise and minerally, peach and cherry, black pepper and smoky bacon, gunpowder tea; the palate is still tight coiled, very energetic and youthful, with the classical flavours of Syrah on granite soils, but there is relatively little stuffing to buffer the structural elements; finishes tight and precise, but also slightly dry. Still going strong, but I am not really sure about its future. I suspect that we will have to take this for what it is. (2059 views) | | | Tasted by JM_MadTown on 11/17/2019 & rated 84 points: While still enjoyable, the fruit has faded quite a bit with this bottle. There are nice dark red fruits, some lead pencil, forest floor, good minerality and a medium finish. (1619 views) | | | Tasted by B Paul on 11/5/2019: Similar to bottle a year ago. Drinking very well right now. (1496 views) | | | Tasted by jhw425 on 10/26/2019 & rated 91 points: From Coravin. Very good and very classic. sauvage, olives, sweat. Loved it (1362 views) | | | Tasted by Puteljen! on 10/25/2019 & rated 90 points: Masses of black olives. Serious. Nice stuff! (1370 views) | | | Tasted by Eric Becker on 8/25/2019 & rated 90 points: We found this little gem at restaurant Brasserie in Trier. Dark, inky yet with a nice shine. In the nose this is typically northern rhone syrah with a precise expression of sweet dark fruits, violets and barnyard. As JM Madtown has commented this indeed started with a slight corkiness, which quickly blew off. In the mouth the wine has still something brooding about it. The tannins are not fully resolved, yet they are not distracting either. And the sweet fruit needed about an hour of air to come on display. Not terribly complex. This is a nicely proportioned, elegantly restrained syrah as you would expect from the northern rhone. Seemingly in a transition phase and with some upside to expect in 2 to 3 years. 90+ (1579 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Alain Graillot Producer websiteSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comRhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Rhone Valley The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
### Wine Scholar Guild's Rhône valley vintage charts & ratings ###Northern Rhône Guide to the wines and appellations of the Northern Rhone Valley -
The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
Regional History:
Phocaean Greeks established viticulture in the Rhone as far back as 600 BC, but until the 14th century the wines were not seen outside the region. The establishment of the Avignonese Papacy (1305-1377) brought fame to the region's wine-so much so that their Burgundian neighbors to the north banned wines from the Rhone in 1446, a measure that effectively cut off trade with England and other Northern European markets for over 200 years. Stretching southward from Lyon to just south of Avignon, the Rhone produces a wide variety of wines, with the appellations north of Valence producing the least (in volume), and the towns south of Montelimar producing prodigious amounts. As in other regions, the most interesting wines come from small farms. Saint-Joseph, in the northern Rhone, extends for some distance between Condrieu in the north to Saint-Peray in the south. The reds are made from Syrah and the rare whites from Marsanne and Roussanne, and Viognier.
### 2017 vintage ###
"The first red wines already tasted in the Northern Rhône promise a beautiful vintage, with a quality close to the 2015 or even the 2009 vintage" - NEWRHÔNE MILLESIMESCrozes-Hermitage Crozes-Hermitage AOC (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône) |
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