M. Chapoutier : Les Varonniers 2023

Lovely lifted aromatics, elegant blackberry and blueberry notes with iodine and peat. Not terribly full-bodied, it's really quite light and transparent this year, but it has lovely fresh acidity and fine, gently springy tannins. Very St-Joseph in style this year, you sense the granite. With its detailed florals, this is drinkable if not terribly deep or long. Grown on a combination of granitic and sedimentary rock, predominantly from a parcel next to bordering AC Hermitage.

The medium-bodied 2023 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers opens with intense orange blossom and dried violets, followed by spicy undercurrents and ripe black cherry. Walks off the stage with confidence toward a long and structured exit. This is delicious.

Ripe red, blue, and black fruits, ground pepper, sappy flowers, and woodsmoke all emerge from the 2023 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers, a medium- to full-bodied, concentrated, vibrant, pure, incredibly elegant Crozes-Hermitage that has more in common with a great Hermitage than a Crozes. Based on 100% Syrah (85% destemmed), it was raised for 18 months in a mix of 70% Burgundy barrels and 30% demi-muids (15% new oak).

Sourced from vines planted in the western part of the appellation on granite soils and vinified with 20% whole clusters and a cold maceration, the 2023 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers is a fine success, wafting from the glass with aromas of violet, dark berries, cassis, tapenade and flowers mingled with a delicate touch of reduction. Medium- to full-bodied, structured and enveloping, it’s well-balanced, built around a layered core of fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a long, ethereal finish.