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Crozes Ermitage, Les Varonniers, Maison M. Chapoutier 2020

Tasting Notes

Lastly, the 2020 Crozes Ermitage Les Varonniers comes from a cooler, granite terroir just beside Hermitage. All destemmed Syrah brought up in 20% new French oak, it's slightly tight and closed aromatically yet has solid purity in its darker, cassis and currant-like fruit as well as truffly earth and gunpowder nuances. This ripe, powerful, structured Crozes has all the right stuff, yet it might take a decade to hit maturity. The alcohol here is a sound 13.5% with a pH of 3.8. It's most likely the Crozes of the vintage and is a brilliant wine readers will love to have in the cellar.

95
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, December 2022

Graphite, plum and blackberry. Beautifully silky, has a good sense of fluidity but also remarkable intensity and concentration. Energy and drive, with deep fruit and sweet tannins. Has a mineral straightness that helps to temper the ripe fruit and ripe tannin. The alcohol is quite raised but not unbalanced. A cut above most Crozes-Hermitages, more serious in style and texture.

Drinking Window 2023 - 2035

94
Matt Walls, Decanter.com, June 2021

The 2020 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers is young and unevolved, yet I still love it. Full-bodied aromas and flavors of blueberries, raspberries, violets, and some rocky mineral notes define this structured yet incredibly pure Crozes Hermitage. As with the 2019, it has more than a passing resemblance to a top Hermitage.

94/96
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, February 2022
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.