M. Chapoutier - Crozes-Hermitage Les Varonniers 2019 (750ml)
Price: $89.00
| Producer | M. Chapoutier |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhone Valley |
| Subregion | Crozes Hermitage |
| Varietal | Rhone Blend |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Size | 750ml |
James Suckling: 96 Points
This must be the best Crozes-Hermitage I ever tasted! Deep, smoky, minty and spicy nose that expands and expands as it aerates, gaining ever more earthy complexity. Stunningly concentrated and focused palate with so much bitter chocolate and black cherry, but even more power. Giant finish that’s astonishingly refined for this appellation. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.
Vinous: 95 Points
Saturated ruby. Expansive aromas of ripe blackberry, cherry liqueur, licorice, vanilla and candied violet are energized by exotic spice and mineral flourishes. Broad and fleshy on the palate, offering densely packed, smoke-laced black and blue fruit, mocha, olive paste, exotic spice and floral pastille flavors that show fine detail and mineral lift. The impressively long, smoky finish echoes the floral and mineral notes and is framed by steadily building, even tannins. Raised in oak barrels, 25% of them new.
Jeb Dunnuck: 95+ Points
The 2019 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers comes from site just to the west of Hermitage, and this cuvée is always a more Hermitage-like, structured wine. While I think the soils here (broken granite) are brilliant, the downside of this vineyard is that it lies in the shade most days and only gets afternoon sun. It produces a big, burly wine that needs bottle age, and top vintages can evolve for over two decades. The 2019 has pure cassis, graphite, and peppery aromatics as well as a rich, full-bodied, concentrated style on the palate. I love its tannins, the balance as well as the purity of fruit are spot on, and this is another beautiful Crozes Hermitage that would pass undetected in a lineup of top Hermitage. Give bottles 5-6 years and enjoy over the following two decades.
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