Crozes Hermitage
Red Wings and Red Rhones
~or~
As the Crozes Flies... 
Part Three

March 2000

We first tried Alain Graillot’s Crozes Hermitage about four or five years ago, and frankly weren’t that impressed. But then, the ’92 and ’93 vintages in the northern Rhone were nothing to write home about, so perhaps this is perfectly understandable. However, such is not the case with ’96 and ’97, and we were fortunate to get our hands on a few to try.

1996 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage $NA; 12.5% alc.

A gift from the esteemed El Duce, this purple garnet is still pink at the rim and exudes huge olives on the nose, with plum, prune, chocolate and herbal hints underneath. The olive character dominates the very dry flavors as well, with underbrush and an intriguing note of tobacco adding complexity. It finishes somewhat astringent, with a touch of tar. The tannins are substantial, but not huge, and there’s good acidity here. As expected, it really opens with air; the plummy fruit comes to the fore after about five hours. I found it interesting that this showed little of the coffee flavors and aromas of the previous vintage. A little too extreme an expression of the varietal for Kim, I liked it just fine, and can only hope that some kind benefactor opens another for me in five years or so.

1995 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage $18, 12.5% alc.

More approachable than the ’96 (surprise!), this dark garnet isn’t quite as pink at the rim. It shows plum and prune on the nose, with some herb and underbrush and yes, more than a hint of coffee, milk chocolate and blackberry. At first it’s all olives and prunes on the palate, but as it opens the flavors echo the aromas more and more, becoming richer and somewhat sweeter. Still, this is a very dry wine, with good tannins and a little less acidity than the newer model. Smooth upon entry, this develops a slight byte by the finish, but then it’s still young. Like the ’96, I wouldn’t try another for five years, but at least I have one of these left! Many thanks to JFO for procuring these for me, since they don’t come around Day-twah any more.

1996 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage La Guiraude $22

This dark garnet features a floral plum, black raspberry and violet bouquet; any leather and game is in the background at first. Dusty Provencal herb emerges in the glass, and the gamy notes come to the fore on the palate, along with some pepper and underbrush. Like so many Rhones, this continues to open and open, with more and more game, herb, underbrush and an added note of saddle leather. After a few hours, this is like a Conan Doyle mystery; the game is afoot! A huge syrah, with good tannins and acidity that should take this down the road a good ways, Kim isn’t sure whether she likes this or not, but this taster has no such reservations. My only regrets are not having more in the cellar and neglecting to record the alcohol content before recycling the bottle.

 And a Couple from Cornas

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvee C $24.99 13% alc.

Charter Gangster The Geek showed up at our door a while back, bearing this gift of the grape, and we made him sit through a 7-4 Red Wings victory over the Chicago Blackhawks whilst we enjoyed it. It’s a dark (but not inky) garnet that features characteristics of plum/olive/ chocolate/smoke/earth along with some nice herb and a hint of coffee. Showing round tannins and low acidity, it’s surprisingly smooth, with good density and a creamy texture. It loses a little intensity on the finish, but still, it’s a nice glass of wine that’s already very approachable. The Geek said it’s "like wet velvet." Well worth the price of admission!

1995 Domaine de Vallouit Cornas $25; 12.5% alc.

I was surprised to find that this had shown up again not long ago at the Elie Wine Co. in Royal Oak, MI. Elie stocked it winter before last, but eventually sold out of it. I tried it at that time and was shocked at how much oak it showed, being anything but typical for the region. Having said that, I also enjoyed it quite a bit, so here was my chance to see how it had fared after almost two years, and at the same price no less.

It’s still a dark garnet in color, with no brick or rust to speak of. It was decanted for over an hour before glasses were poured, and we were immediately struck by tons of olives on the nose, along with a noticeable oak overtone, but the latter was considerably sub-dude compared to the last sampling. These follow through on the palate with added plum/prune and hints of violets. Notes of vanilla emerge with air, but not the kind you get from American oak; wisps of Provencal herb peek out from time to time as well. The wine is remarkably smooth for so young a Cornas; I’d guess the oak has a lot to do with this. It finishes reasonably long and gets better and better with air. This is by no means a blockbuster Syrah, but it is a very enjoyable one, and at a good price for a wine from this region. Perhaps one of these days we’ll have to see how it stacks up against a Californian Syrah from say, Dehlinger or Katherine Kennedy.

Back to Part One

Back to Part Two

WINES

Part One

1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage 
Domaine de Thalabert 

1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Saint Joseph 
"Le Grand Pompee" 

Part Two

1995 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage
 Domaine de Thalabert 

1995 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage 
"Les Jalets" 

1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage
 Domaine de Thalabert 

1996 M. Chapoutier 
Crozes Hermitage 
"Les Meysonniers" 

1997 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage 
Domaine de Thalabert 

1997 Albert Belle 
Crozes Hermitage
 Les Pierrelles 

1997 Paul Jaboulet Aine 
Crozes Hermitage
 "Les Jalets"