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2019 Crozes Hermitage “Tiercerolles”
Barruol / Lynch

If one were to author a book called “The Great Wines of Crozes Hermitage,” it would be a quick read. It is the northern Rhône’s largest appellation, and yet historically there hasn’t been much to write home about. When Kermit first started poking around there in the ’70s, Gérard Chave told him only one grower was making wines of any note (whom, sure enough, Kermit was importing soon thereafter). Thankfully, things look brighter today. The best terroirs are better treated, and some lovely wines are coming from the area. Louis Barruol vinifies several of the finest parcels the appellation has to offer, and the result is exactly what a Crozes should be—a gateway wine, serious but a bit more approachable than its bigger sibling, the grand old Hermitage. This juicy, blueberry-and-leather-infused Syrah with a long finish is ready to drink tonight.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Syrah |
Appellation: | Crozes Hermitage |
Country: | France |
Region: | Northern Rhône |
Winemaker: | Louis Barruol |
Vineyard: | 30-50 years |
Soil: | Granite |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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2022 Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah “Les Hautes Ribaudes”
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2019 Condrieu “Chéry”
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2018 Hermitage Blanc “La Pierrelle”
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2020 Crozes Hermitage “Tiercerolles”
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Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch