2023 Crozes-Hermitage Rouge “Passe Temps”
Frédéric Pierro
What do you do when you inherit a tiny plot of vines previously used for family and friends’ consumption? I suppose you either go all out and get more land, try to build up a domaine, and go full-time on it, or you keep your day job, be content with what you got, and have some fun with it. Frédéric chose the latter, slowly fixing up the vineyard in his free time, making wine in a garage the size of a closet, while carrying on with his job selling winery supplies to domaines in the region. Using his position to glean tips and advice from his clients (Thierry Allemand was one in particular who offered assistance and inspiration), Frédéric soon had a local following in and around his village for his old-school, dark, juicy Crozes with its hints of tapenade and smoke. A couple years ago, Kermit happened to stop in town for lunch at the local saloon, was promptly served a bottle of Pierro’s, and the rest is history.
—Chris Santini
| Wine Type: | red |
| Vintage: | 2023 |
| Bottle Size: | 750mL |
| Blend: | Syrah |
| Appellation: | Crozes-Hermitage |
| Country: | France |
| Region: | Northern Rhône |
| Producer: | Frédéric Pierro |
| Vineyard: | Planted in 2010; .9 ha |
| Soil: | Clay, gravel with galets roulés |
| Aging: | Aged in 3-5 year old barriques for 10-12 months |
| Farming: | Organic (certified) |
| Alcohol: | 12.5% |
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About The Producer
Frédéric Pierro
Kermit discovered the wines of Frédéric Pierro at a casual lunch spot in the hills of Crozes-Hermitage. Frédéric is the smallest independent grower and bottler in the entire appellation, working just one hectare of vines. Fred’s family grew grapes and other crops up until the 1960s, when his grandfather sold off most of his vineyards to focus on fruit trees, which was a more lucrative source of income than winegrowing. Thankfully, in order to have a bit of wine for family consumption, he retained a single hectare, the plot that Fred works today. In 2010, Fred replanted the parcel, which boasts a layer of galets roulés over clay and gravel, and has worked it organically ever since. In a cellar no larger than a closet he raises his micro-production of wines, all aged in barrel: a white Crozes and two reds vinified whole-cluster, one of which is bottled without sulfur.
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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