September 11, 2023 - Classic if riper and somewhat more modern northern rhone. Dark plum blackberry, olives bacon fat. Some lavender. Black pepper. PalAte quote balanced with good acid supporting big fruit and bacon. Heavy in a hermitage way without obvious oak influences. This lacks the greater subtlety that best crises have but it’s well made and correct.
October 24, 2022 - This is a Bio Crozes Hermitage from Jaboulet. The back label suggests to drink within five years, which would suggest this might be about finished, but that seems conservative to me. Good dark red colour. Quite fresh on the nose, fairly classic Crozes with spicy plum aromas. Medium bodied on the palate, with quite fresh acid and minimal tannin. Not sure if this was better younger, but it's perfectly solid to drink now. The value at €16 is probably just about borderline.
September 24, 2022 - Blackberry, violets, peppercorn, juniper, eucalyptus, herbs, coal, and ash perfume. High tension, precision, lift, structure, and balance. The restrained side of north Rhone Syrah. The finish lingers a long while.
This wine of the earth needs time to come into its own. This bottle seemingly had seven to ten years of evolution ahead of it. Improvement seems likely. High QPR! 92-93.
May 20, 2022 - Deep dark red center, red rim with some purple, no real signs of age.
Slightly reductive nose, underripe plums, coffee grounds, touch of rubber, sous bois.
Smooth but some bitterness lurking, mashed damsons and blueberries, good acidity and tannin, plasticine and bing cherries, alcohol in check (13.5%), very good finish.
Very good Crozes-Hermitage, which I could mistake for something more new world except for the rubber note, good now but might be better in a couple of years.
April 19, 2022 - bloody, with primary fruit, slightly reductive, that is ripe, fresh, and blue toned, just enough acidity and mineral to balance the fruit, and thank god no signs of new oak. on the whole very pleasant to enjoy now, and will be on the upswing for another 5 years, though itll never be the most intense or bloody, it is balanced and very good quality
April 15, 2022 - Corked!
March 11, 2022 - Easy to drink Crozes
February 27, 2022 - I really like this Crozes. Very well balanced, not too expensive. Drinks really well.
February 24, 2022 - Great Syrah. Extremely fine and silky tannins. Black fruits and spice
January 19, 2022 - My first Northern Rhone syrah. Dark dark red with the faintest of purple hues. Color lightens a bit on the rim, but still fairly dark when compared to other varietals. The nose was pretty closed, but after some aggressive swirling and some air there were some nice blackberries and blueberries coming through with faint black peppercorns. On the palate the tannins were way smoother than I was expecting and low acidity as well, with luscious velvety black fruits, a salty minerality, and intense spicy black pepper finish with a touch of cayenne. The pepper really made it interesting for me and give it some structure, although overall very smooth, and lots of dark fruits. I'm a huge fan of cru Beaujolais, and this actually had a very similar vibe to some warm vintage Julienas I've had in the past, with the exception of the spice. Day 2 the nose had become a touch more intense with fruit, but the spicy finish was toned down to allow the salinity to stand out a bit more. Really enjoyed this for the price - I've unlocked a new region to explore!