2015 Crozes Hermitage Clos des Grives
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Tasting notes
Deep ruby. Smoke-accented black and blue fruits, vanilla and olive paste on the deeply perfumed nose. Plush, sweet and open-knit, offering intense blackberry and mocha flavors that are energized by a core of juicy acidity. Shows the richness of the vintage to good effect, but there's real energy here as well. Finishes extremely long and round, the supple tannins building steadily and adding framework and gentle grip.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Lastly, the 2015 Crozes-Hermitage Clos Des Grives is the top wine of the estate and comes from a single parcel planted near the estate, in the southern portion of the appellation. Blueberries, blackberries, hints of cracked pepper and leafy herbs all flow to a medium to full-bodied, ripe, polished, beautifully textured Syrah that has sweet tannin and a charming, forward style. At this point, you have to hunt for the tannins, but they’re there, and this beauty will keep for 10-15 years. These wines are made by Laurent Combier, who’s one of the benchmark producers in Crozes-Hermitage. He pulls mostly from vineyards in the southern part of the appellation, around the estate, yet has a small parcel in the northern, more granite section of the region, where he pulls grapes for his Cap Nord cuvée. While the single vineyard Clos des Grives (from the south) is the flagship cuvée, the Cap Nord in 2015 is every bit as good.