JJ Bucks:

". . . The real stunner is the 2009 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Grands Chemins...rich, full-bodied, stunning personality...it should drink well for 10-15 years. . .
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate


A "smart buy" if ever there was one, this unbelievably delicious red delivers a command performance at a bargain price! From one of the all-time greatest vintages the Northern Rhone has ever seen, just a scant handful of Parker 92+ rated '09s can be had for less than $35—let alone $22.41. Offering layered, complex drinking now, Delas' 2009 Crozes-Hermitage 'Grands Chemins' will cellar easily for a decade or more. How many under $25 wines can you say THAT about?

Perhaps it should come as no surprise the great-drinking, ageable 'Grands Chemins' is from the highly capable team at Delas Frères—the same winery who fashioned one of the four Parker 100-point wines of the vintage with their Hermitage 'Les Bressards' (retailing for $220 and up). There's a lot of wine for the money here, with notes of pepper-roasted meat, black tapenade, rosemary and lavender that are so inviting, you could get lost in the bouquet. But the palate is equally terrific—full-bodied, yet crisp and refreshing with a soft, sensuous finish that lingers.

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