Crozes-Hermitage (18) a big tasting of whites and reds

February 26, 2025February 26, 2025 jamiegoode 867 Views crozes-hermitage, Northern Rhone

WHITES

In 2023, Crozes-Hermitage was 11% white. Here I tried 18 whites.

Vidal-Fleury Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2022
13% alcohol. Marsanne with some Roussanne. Textured and quite broad with smooth citrus, pear, melon and peach fruit. Quite soft in the mouth with yellow fruits dominating and a slight saltiness on the finish. It’s a really intriguing, complex wine with lovely balance. 92/100

Guigal Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2022
Full yellow colour. This is fresh and fruit-dominated with some patisserie notes supporting the open pear and apricot fruit with some broad melony notes. Very expressive with a slight saltiness on the finish that has lots of appeal. 91/100

Graham & Julie Bott Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
12.5% alcohol. 80% Roussanne, 20% Marsanne. Floral and expressive with bright pear and apricot fruit. This has a wonderful aromatic lift and then a textured, broad but delicate palate with real presence and charm. Lovely interleaved, mineral-laced flavours here. 94/100

Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
13% alcohol. Compact and nicely textured with a nice concentration of pear fruit with some apricot richness in the background. Lovely mouthfeel here, which is bright but has backing from rich, pure yellow-fruit flavours. Has a tingling spiciness on the finish. 93/100

Domaine de la Ville Rouge Crozes-Hermitage Blanc ‘Nathan’ 2023
12% alcohol. Organic. Yellow/gold in colour. Powerful flavours of honey, nuts, yellow plums and melon, with a touch of apricot and then some citrus brightness on the finish. Despite the colour and breadth of rich fruit, there’s still freshness and vitality here. A beautiful rich expression of this place. 94/100

Domaine des Remizières Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Cuvée Particulière 2023
13.5% alcohol. This is fresh and supple with some nice depth. Very polished with a slight creamy texture to the broad pear and white peach fruit. Has a gentleness and ease to it, and delivers lots of pleasure. Seamless flow across the palate. 92/100

Domaine Pradelle Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
13.5% alcohol. Full yellow colour. Textural and finely spiced with a citrus twist to the ripe melon and pear fruit. There’s a great balance to this wine which shows a lemony undercurrent that really brings the richer fruit notes into focus. 92/100

Clairmont Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Palais 2023
12% alcohol. Marsanne from alluvial soils with galets roulés. Full yellow in colour, this has a lovely rich texture with yellow plum, ripe pear and some melon notes. Really nice fruit focus with a nice acid line on the finish. Great balance here. 92/100

Domaine Delhome Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Loess 2023
13.5% alcohol. Organic. Beautiful harmony here with a saline framing to broad but balanced ripe pear and apricot fruit. Real volume in the mouth with nice depth of fruit, finishing with a fine, mineral, spicy dance on the palate. Impressive stuff. 95/100

Domaine Vendome Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Bruclas 2023
13% alcohol. 70% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne. Organic. This is textured, lively and vital with a fine lime and spice finish after a big flow of pear, melon and ripe apple fruit. Good concentration of flavour, interleaving subtly saline, mineral notes with ripe fruit to good effect. 94/100

Christophe Pichon Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
13% alcohol. Floral aromatics with a slightly creamy edge. Honey, nuts, melon and some apricot on the palate, which is softly textured and quite expansive. Really nice brightness on the finish, saving it from flabbiness. Pleasurable. 92/100

Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
13.5% alcohol. This has broad flavours of pear and apricot with nice citrus freshness on the finish. Bold with nice concentration and purity, showing some personality but always staying polite and nicely polished. Long finish. 93/100

Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
13% alcohol. Organic. Yellow in colour, this combines both richness and freshness, with complex ripe pear and peach fruit and a fine spiciness. It’s textural, with some salinity and minerality meshing well with the rich, luscious fruit. Finishes long and fresh. 94/100

Jean Esprit Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Perles Ivoire 2023
13.5% alcohol. Marsanne/Roussanne blend. Yellow colour. Highly aromatic with some ripe apricot and cantelpoup melon, as well as some grapefruit peel. In the mouth, this is big, fruity and rich with exotic melon and apricot characters, and a fine spicy note. A really expressive wine, finishing with some toastiness. 92/100

Domaine Melody Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
12.5% alcohol. 70% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne, a third each concrete egg, stainless steel and barrel. Organic. Beautiful focus and presence here. There’s some floral detail on the nose with ripe pear and apricot fruit, and then a palate that offers concentration and a layered texture with crystalline citrus and ripe peach fruit. Finishes long. Really impressive. 94/100

Domaine Les 4 Vents Crozes-Hermitage Blanc La Rage 2023
13% alcohol. From Lucie Fourel and Nancy Cellier. Organic. This has an innate richness, with sweet honey and nut characters, as well as ripe apple and pear fruit. There’s a warmth on the palate with rich patisserie and honey notes combining with rich but-still-lively fruit, and it offers a lot of pleasure in this broader, subtly oxidative style. 94/100

Domaine du Chêne Vert Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023
12.5% alcohol. From Mickaël Rochas and Jordan Colin. From the Plateau des Châssis, lieu dit Sarraliers. Organic. Full yellow in colour, this is a bold, textural wine with rich honeyed, slightly salty canteloup melon and apricot notes. It’s viscous and layered with good concentration. Rich, but with balance. 94/100

Domaine Les Alexandrins Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Garennes 2023
13% alcohol. This has nice brightness, but also some depth. Focused citrus and white peach fruit with a nice acid line, showing rich fruit combined with a sense of freshness. Lovely texture and energy, finishing long. 93/100

REDS

Here I tried 43 reds, from a range of vintages, but most from 2023 and 2022.

Les Vins de Vienne Crozes-Hermitage 2023
12.5% alcohol. This is aged in one-third each of concrete, foudres and barrels. Alluvial pebble soils. Wonderfully ripe and aromatic with sweet, alluring red cherry and raspberry fruit with subtle cured meat and pepper. The palate is fresh, crunchy and intense but also with lots of sweet pleasurable fruit and more of that vibrant floral expression of Syrah, finishing with a bit of grip. Such a lovely wine. 95/100

Marrenon Crozes-Hermitage Crucem 2023
12% alcohol. Pebbly alluvial soils. There’s a nice savoury, almost bloody core to this wine which shows appealing red cherry and berry fruits with some stony undercurrents. Has some grip. The fruit seems slightly faded, but it’s an attractive wine. 90/100

Domaine des Remizières Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Particulière 2023
13.5% alcohol. There’s a dark, brooding, slightly meaty olive tapenade character here supporting the sweet berry and cherry fruits. Has some richness, with a slight stewed quality to the fruit. There’s authenticity here, with pepper and olive savouriness, but also ripeness. 91/100

Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage 2023
13% alcohol. This has some grippy tannins and dark pepper and olive detail sitting under the sweet, ripe fruit. Blackberries and black cherries dominate, with a nice combination of the sweet and savoury. Stylish. 93/100

Graeme & Julie Bott Crozes-Hermitage 2023
12.5% alcohol. Fresh with nice peppery detail and brightly focused black cherry fruit, showing a good balance between the sweet fruit and the more grunty savoury characters. There’s superb balance and restraint here, allied to a good concentration of flavours and an iron-rich mineral finish. Such a satisfying wine. 94/100

Domaine Melody Friandise Crozes-Hermitage 2023
13% alcohol. From galets roulés in Chassis, aged 10 months is stainless steel and concrete. Organic. Finely aromatic nose with stones and blood mixed with herb-scented red fruits. Detailed and nuanced on the palate with grainy, bloody, slightly meaty notes as well as elegant red berry fruits, finishing peppery and nicely edgy. Such a distinctive wine of real purity and focus. 95/100

Domaine Vendome Crozes-Hermitage Les Coulaires 2023
13% alcohol. Organic. Concentrated, fine and layered with a core of sweet berry and cherry fruits, with some peppery detail and also some subtle iodine and blood notes. Very fine and detailed, combining sweet fruit with some peppery framing and good energetic flow across the palate. 94/100

Clairmont Crozes-Hermitage Les Palais 2023
12.5% alcohol. From alluvial terrasses. This is vivid and distinctive with a concentrated, seductive blackberry and blackcurrant fruit core. It’s fresh and lush at the same time, offering lots of fruit, but there’s also a slightly beetroot/turned earth undercurrent that’s a bit of a distraction. 88/100

Domaine du Chêne Vert Crozes-Hermitage L’Enracinée 2023
13% alcohol. Organic. From a 60 year old parcel. Complex nose with a savoury, spicy, slightly smoky edge to the fruit. Beautiful intensity in the mouth with masses of concentration and structure, with sweet blackberry and black cherry fruit kept honest by some crushed rock and gravel minerality and then some grippy tannins. Finishes with some sour cherry. This is an immense wine with real potential for ageing. 96/100

Domaine Ville de la Rouge Crozes-Hermitage Inspiration 2023
12.5% alcohol. Organic. Finely aromatic and slightly understated, this is a floral, elegant expression of Syrah with fine cherry and berry fruits with some savoury, mineral underpinning, offering a nuanced, drinkable wine with elegance and complexity. Not big, but very good. 94/100

Arnoux & Fils Crozes-Hermitage Vieux Clocher Petites Collines 2023
12.5% alcohol. A selection of terroirs from granitic soils. This is really good, with lots of red fruit energy and a nice vivid mouthfeel. Pure and well balanced with nice grip to the fruit, showing some orange peel and pepper spice characters. Has nice savoury elements as well as dense fruit. 92/100

Domaine du Chêne Vert Crozes-Hermitage 2023
13% alcohol. Organic. There’s a wonderful savoury, spicy density here with some sweet black cherry fruit but also some brooding sternness, with crushed rocks and bright acidity and grippy tannins. Very fresh and fine and multidimensional, with potential for ageing. Superb. 95/100

Luyton Fleury Crozes-Hermitage Terre du Sud 2023
12.5% alcohol. Organic. This has a lovely mouthfeel, with a core of sweet cherry and berry fruits, framed by notes of olive, pepper and cured meat. Supple and very drinkable with nice finesse and unobscured fruit, offering a lot of pleasure even young. 93/100

Olivier Ravoire Crozes-Hermitage Espee 2023
13% alcohol. Espee is an old French term for a sword. There’s a savoury, stony, slightly woody edge to the vivid cherry and berry fruits here. Lively, with nice fruit, and hints of pepper and iodine. The woody notes are a distraction, but the fruit is really good. 90/100

Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage 2023
13% alcohol. Organic. Lovely concentration and intensity here. Quite bold, ripe and lush, with notes of roast meat and charcoal as well as sweet cherries and berries, with a bit of peppery detail. Nice flesh, but also some mineral concentration, too. A bold but balanced style that works really well, and finishes with spicy detail. 95/100

Christophe Pichon Crozes-Hermitage 2023
13% alcohol. Supple and quite rewarding with a core of sweet, mellow cherry and berry fruits with a touch of iodine on the finish, and some grainy, spicy notes. Very supple and stylish, this is a beautiful ripe expression of Syrah from here. 93/100

Domaine de la Louve Crozes-Hermitage Fable 1 A Pas de Louve 2022
11% alcohol. Very sweet aromatics of almost jammy liqueur-like black cherries with some liqourice. Some oxidative hints. The palate shows stony minerality, brooding crushed rock, olives, iodine and sweet black fruits. It’s a very distinctive style, with the fruit somewhat faded by oxidative winemaking, and yet an amazing presence and minerality, finishing bright and lively. Will have some fans and some detractors, but it’s serious. 94/100

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Les Jalets 2022
13% alcohol. Organic. Supple and polite, with well balanced cherry and berry fruits, with nice fruit focus and a touch of savoury, stony character on the finish. Perfectly correct and enjoyable, but very conservative in style. 89/100

Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Le Rouvre 2022
13.5% alcohol. Organic. Lovely balance here, with bold, focused berry and cherry fruits, as well as a touch of blackcurrant richness. Has some pepper and olive character in the background, with some liquid rock character adding savoury interest. 94/100

Domaine Delhome Crozes-Hermitage Boréal 2022
13% alcohol. This has a grippy, savoury edge to the sweet berry and black fruits. Nicely savoury with a bit of tannic grip and gravelly grunt, as well as hints of pepper. Great balance and focus here. 92/100

Garon Crozes-Hermitage Around The Rhône 2022
12.5% alcohol. This is supple and superbly balanced with midweight black cherry and blackberry fruit with some nice structure playing a supporting role. Has just a hint of pepper and olive, and stays pure and focused all the way to the end. 92/100

Domaine Gaylord Machon Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Ghany 2022
13% alcohol. Organic. Balanced and rounded with a core of sweet, luscious cherry and raspberry fruit with some nice structure. Has pepper and iodine, and even a hint of cured meat. Nice grippy structure on the finish. 93/100

Domaine Melody Crozes-Hermitage Etoile Noire 2022
13% alcohol. This has a lovely gravelly, crushed-rock grippy edge to the sweet black cherry and blackberry fruits. Dense and unfurled and quite striking, offering lots of pleasure with amazing concentration. 94/100

Domaine Pradelle Crozes-Hermitage 2022
13.5% alcohol. Meaty and sweetly fruited on the nose with lovely supple cherry and berry fruits on the palate. Nice purity with good balance and some pepper and blood complexity in the mix too. 92/100

Gabriel Meffre Crozes-Hermitage Saint-Pierre 2022
12.5% alcohol. This is juicy and supple with appealing red cherry fruit, some wild strawberry and then notes of herbs and pepper. Well balanced, offering some local character, and with nothing out of place. 91/100

Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Gaby 2022
13% alcohol. Fresh, aromatic nose offering pepper, roast meat and sweet black cherries, as well as a hint of wood spice. The palate shows great concentration and good structure, with pure black fruits and fine peppery detail, but there’s also some oak impact here. It’s a polished, impressive Crozes, with a good future ahead of it, but I would rather have less oak. 93/100

Maison Bouachon Crozes-Hermitage La Maurelle 2022
12.5% alcohol. Lovely aromatics of sweet olives and lush cherry fruit with some herb and meat framing. The palate is grippy and savoury with a core of sweet fruit but also some good structure, and notes of blood and iron on the finish. Grippy and detailed. A southern negociant doing the north well. 93/100

Les Vins de Vienne Crozes-Hermitage Lieu Dit Les Grappiats 2022
12.5% alcohol. From terraces in Châssis, with clay/limestone under alluvial galets. 12 months barrel then six months in vat. This has a strongly savoury edge to it: firm and unfurled with bold tannins and a core of sweet black fruits with some grainy, mineral underpinning. There’s a lot going on here. 93/100

Les Vins de Vienne Crozes-Hermitage Les Palignons 2022
13% alcohol. Les Palignons is a loca dialect for wooden stakes (echalas). This is from granitic terraces and alluvial plateau with galets roulés. Beautiful concentration and balance here, bringing together sweet cherry and berry fruits with some firm, savoury, grainy structure, and subtle pepper, olive and mineral notes. It’s grippy, intense and quite delicious with lovely savoury frills on the finish. 94/100

Domaine Les 4 Vents Crozes-Hermitage 2022
13% alcohol. This is beautiful. It’s floral and expressive with some pepper, meat and iodine character, good concentration in the mouth, and lovely lush blackberry and cherry fruit. It’s friendly but it has edges, and a lovely graphite minerality, and there’s just so much personality here. 94/100

Jean Esprit Crozes-Hermitage Le Zouave 2022
13.5% alcohol. This is polished but very stylish, with what seems like some oak in the mix adding structural support the flourishing cherry and berry fruits, with a bit of peppery framing. Fruit-forward, concentrated and polished, this is really good. 93/100

Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes-Hermitage Les Trois Chênes 2022
13% alcohol. This is a lovely wine, with a core of sweet red and black cherries, some olive tapenade, and then fine pepper and herb notes. Floral and fine, but with enough structure to balance out the sweet fruit, this is a superbly elegant example of Crozes-Hermitage. 95/100

Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage 2022
13% alcohol. Great definition here with some firm structure sitting under the vivid cherry and berry fruits. Ripe with some grip, and lively acidity on the finish. Alert and focused, with nice presence. 93/100

Domaine des Chemins Crozes-Hermitage Absolue 2022
14% alcohol. Lovely brightness on the finish, following some warm, lush, almost jammy stewed strawberry and cherry fruit. Has a combination of sweet fruit with some quite firm tannins and bright acidity, and the result is very drinkable. 91/100

Domaine de la Ville Rouge Crozes-Hermitage Terre d’Eclat 2022
13% alcohol. Organic. Ripe, sweet and supple with a core of sweet berry fruits, and then some nice spicy framing. Mouthfilling with good concentration, and the sweet fruit is well supported by some grippy structure. Generous and appealing. 92/100

Jean Esprit Crozes-Hermitage Perles Noires 2022
13.5% alcohol. Very appealing nose with some roast meat, pepper and sweet blackberry fruit. The palate is grippy and gravelly, with nice density of ripe berry and black fruits. Stylish. Has a hint of what seems to be oak polish, but it doesn’t get in the way too much. 93/100

Vidal Fleury Crozes-Hermitage 2022
13% alcohol. Appealing aromatics of sweet cherry and berry fruits with a savoury herb, pepper and cured meat edge. The palate shows nice freshness with a bit of grip, and a herbal twist, as well as warmly spiced, slightly meaty berry fruits. Lovely balance, and plenty of regional character here. 93/100

Pierre Gaillard Crozes-Hermitage 2022
12.5% alcohol. Supple and juicy with bright cherry and berry fruits, some stony detail, a hint of pepper and some salty, savoury notes on the finish, which is a bit ferrous. Midweight and well balanced. 92/100

Maison Les Alexandrins Crozes-Hermitage 2022
12.5% alcohol. 12 months in wood. Savoury, mineral and multilayered, this shows sweet red cherry and strawberry fruit with some herbal hints. There’s a nice flow across the palate, with the structure balancing the sweet fruit really well. Has some cured meat and pepper character on the finish with some raspberry crunch. 93/100

Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Nouvelère 2020
14.5% alcohol. Rich, dense, dark and brooding with lush blackberry fruit and some meaty, spicy detail. Has a real core of ripe fruit, but this is balanced by some roast meat and charcoal character, with a touch of savouriness. A remarkable wine: very rich, but really balanced with lushness and intensity. 95/100

Domaine Les 4 Vents Crozes-Hermitage Saint Jaimes 2021
13% alcohol. Olive, spice and meat on the nose, leading to a supple, fresh palate with sweet red cherry and wild strawberry fruit as well as some blood and iodine savouriness, and lovely mineral intensity. Such a beautifully nervy and elegant wine with good intensity and focus. 95/100

Guigal Crozes-Hermitage 2021
13% alcohol. Nice grippy structure behind the fresh strawberry and cherry fruit with herbs, iodine and pepper providing some savoury interest. Drinkable and well balanced, finishing with some herbal hints. 90/100

Domaine Gaylord Machon Crozes-Hermitage Lhony 2018
15% alcohol. This is dense, rich and abundantly fruity with a core of sweet blackberry fruit as well as some spicy detail. There’s some warmth and quite a bit of ripeness, but it works: a very dense, bold style of real appeal, with a slight saltiness on the finish. The tannins are smooth and the fruit is lush, but there’s some spicy definition. 93/100

CROZES-HERMITAGE

WHITES

REDS

You May Also Like