“Must-haves for any serious Northern Rhône fan”: 2016 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Posted on: 06/6/18 2:22 PM
There are few more reliable wines than Graillot’s appellation-defining Crozes-Hermitage.Meaty, earthy and smoky, with all the savory flavors, plummy flavors great Syrah is known for. But you shouldn’t buy this wine because it is reliable. No. You should buy it because 2016 is a profound vintage in the Northern Rhône and this reliably great wine is all that much greater.
Seriously. There are few wines this good for this price. Buy as much as you can before we sell through.
2016 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge
“Graillot’s 2016 Crozes Hermitage (tasted from tank) will be bottled at the end of January. It’s floral and stemmy, with dark berry fruit and some tea-like notes on the silky finish. This medium to full-bodied wine should be almost ready to drink upon release and drink well for up to a decade.” 91-93 pts. Wine Advocate
More About the Wine:
From last year’s offer: Graillot founded his own Domaine only in in 1985, and started making some pretty serious waves around 1990 when Robert Parker compared his Crozes to most producers Hermitage. By now the secret is well and truly out, but the comparison still holds true. Wonderfully the prices are still incredibly good too given the adulation the wines have received, and the only problem is getting hold of them. Today we have them in both 750ml and magnum format.
These are wines of remarkable depth and structure- far more serious than one would expect from a typical Crozes. Complex, dense and ageworthy, yet pure and irresistible in youth. This is achieved by working with old (usually more than 30 yrs) vines on varying soils of sand, gravel and stones, and then with utterly traditional winemaking. There’s no destemming at all, and only indigenous yeasts and large old barrels are used. Today the estate is run principally by Alain’s son Maxime, who has showed remarkable ability, and might just be taking his family name to even greater heights than his brilliant father.
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