Tardieu Laurent : Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes" 2021

Tasting Characteristics and Advice for the Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes" 2021 from Tardieu Laurent

Tasting

Color

This wine displays a deep purple hue, enhanced by violet highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals opulent aromas of red fruits, notably raspberry, accompanied by spicy notes of cinnamon and hints of toast. Nuances of black plum, fresh violet, lilac, smoke, and dusty earth complete this complex bouquet.

Palate

On the palate, this wine charms with its delicate balance and lively freshness. Its silky texture and fine tannins provide an elegant structure, while flavors of red and black fruits mingle with notes of black pepper and subtly smoky touches. The finish offers lovely aromatic persistence.

Food and wine pairings

This Crozes-Hermitage pairs perfectly with grilled and roasted meats, especially beef and lamb. It also matches very well with slow-cooked dishes such as beef bourguignon, coq au vin, or baked vegetable dishes like ratatouille. Aged hard cheeses also make an excellent pairing.

Serving and cellaring

The Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes" 2021 is best enjoyed at a temperature between 14 and 17°C. About twenty minutes of aeration in a decanter allows the wine to reveal its full aromatic complexity. This wine can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve through around 2031.

An Elegant, Fresh Crozes-Hermitage

The estate

Founded in 1996 in Lourmarin, the Tardieu Laurent House quickly established itself as one of the leading references in wine trading in the Rhône Valley. Created by Michel Tardieu and Dominique Laurent, the House is now led by Michel Tardieu alongside his son Bastien, an oenologist in charge of winemaking since 2009, and his daughter Camille. Based in a 15th- and 16th-century château, the estate works with around seventy partner winegrowers throughout the Rhône Valley. The Tardieu Laurent philosophy rests on four core principles: selecting old vines between fifty and one hundred years of age, expressing terroir and grape varieties, respecting organic and biodynamic practices, and building lasting relationships with winegrowers based on mutual trust.

The vineyard

The Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes" 2021 comes from the three main terroirs of the appellation: Gervans, Habrard, and Tenay. The vines, averaging sixty years of age, are planted on granitic soils typical of the northern part of the appellation. Crozes-Hermitage is the largest appellation in the Northern Rhône, extending around the Hill of Hermitage across eleven communes. These high-altitude terroirs benefit from favorable exposure and poor soils that naturally promote grape concentration and the expression of the Syrah grape variety.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in the Rhône Valley was marked by exceptional weather conditions. A catastrophic frost episode in early April, with temperatures dropping as low as -10°C, pushed the vines into a three-week period of dormancy. Fortunately, the remainder of the season was more forgiving, with beneficial rainfall throughout the growing cycle, moderate summer temperatures, and a magnificent autumn. These conditions allowed the grapes to reach optimal phenolic ripeness, producing fresh and elegant wines with moderate alcohol levels, the opposite of recent солнечные vintages.

Vinification and aging

After fermentation carried out by the partner winegrowers, the Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes" 2021 was transferred to the Lourmarin cellars for aging. The wine was aged for eight months in new and one-wine French oak barrels from the forests of Allier, Tronçais, and Jupille. Bottling was carried out without fining and with light filtration, preserving the wine’s aromatic integrity and natural texture.

Grape variety

100% Syrah