94pts James Suckling

A very pure and floral nose with cherries, violets and plums as well.  Medium body with velvety tannins and bright acidity. Such a succulent  core of redcurrants and violets with minerality and a transparent  character to the focused finish. Drink or hold

90pts Wine Spectator

Shows appealing sanguine, meaty character, with a core of steeped  plum and a firming spine of iron. Well-defined, with chalky tannins,  dried herbs, lavender and toasted apple wood. Drink now through 2030.  2,500 cases made, 500 cases imported.

Winemaker Notes

All the grapes are hand-harvested, from severely-pruned, low-yielding vines. The red Crozes-Hermitage grapes are not destemmed, i.e. 100% whole-cluster. They are loaded into lined concrete vats, and temperatures are brought down to 18°C for a 2 to 5 day pre-fermentation maceration. Once vinifications (indigenous yeast) get going, temperatures rise to 30°C, and cuvaison lasts 15 to 21 days. Aged for one year - 80% of them in one to 3 year old oak barrels, the remaining 20% in vat. They are given a light filtration but no fining before bottling.

Winery Description

The Graillot residence and cellars are just outside the village of Pont de l’Isère, about 6km south of Tain-l’Hermitage. The Crozes-Hermitage vineyards are close by, on the flat, rocky land between the Isère and Rhône rivers. The best sites are at Les Chassis and Les Sept Chemins.

Around Pont de l’Isère, the soil is formed from alluvial deposits of sand, gravel, rocks and stones. Despite being flat, it drains exceedingly well.