Crozes-Hermitage is an appellation in the northern Rhone. It produces red wines of mostly Syrah, and up to 15% Roussanne and Marsanne,
and whites of Roussanne and Marsanne.
and whites of Roussanne and Marsanne.We tasted La Matiniere at the Expo and loved it. So we picked up a bottle and drank it at home recently. I think it offers a bit of something for every taste: prominent fruit, as well as noticeable structure and tannins. The nose is mostly plump, soft fruit - plums and berries - with spruce and herbal and floral notes. All of that follows through on the palate, which is also very soft until it finishes with firm tannins. Good length. This wine is not overly complex, but it is very nice and excellent value for the money. It also kept very well in the half-bottle. After a day it had softened a bit, but didn`t seem to have lost much complexity or fruit.
I see from the ANBL product database that there are only about 80 bottles left in the province and hope that we have already picked a few up.
Price: $26.48Value: 4/5
Score: 91
Region: France, Northern Rhone
Grape: Shiraz / Syrah
Tasted: Dec 2008
UPC: 3380651030630
Posts
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteYour description is similar to mine. I too consumed it over a couple of days. I found this wine very "stylish"..clean, sleek, balanced and appealing...no frayed edges so to speek. All in all very different to other Crozes-Hermitage I have tasting notes for.
BTW, Wine Specator also gave this a 91, with a now to 2012 drinking window.
ReplyDeleteI have had this wine a couple of times since the show and I would agree with the term stylish, especially compared to the Guigal Crozes Hermitage. But that is not a negative, just different. I prefer the 'rustic' E.Guigal but I still liked this wine.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - we'll have to try the Guigal sometime.
ReplyDeleteI took this wine to an intimate dinner party. I made sure it was opened first (heavy "tasting" night). I was really surprised by this wine. I had expected the typical hot/pepper of a Shiraz..then again my experience with French wines is limited..silly assumption on my part. This wine was excellent from sip to finish. Maybe its the addition of the Roussanne and Marsanne that takes it out of the typical syrah category. Very elegant like nothing I had tasted before and still can't think of a comparison. I feel like Goldilocks...not too hot, not to cold, not to soft, not too hard...but juuuust right. I would definitely rate this a 91 and 4/5 value. Its on the higher end of my dollar amount to spend on every day wine at ANBL..but kids, this one is and was worth it.
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We had a bottle of this wine again last night at a dinner party and it was a bit disappointing. Not bad, but nothing special. I'd probably have rated it more like 87-88 based on last night's tasting. I can't really explain the difference.
ReplyDeleteHey Norm, do you think the reason may be that you were eating or had it accompanying food? Like I have mentioned in a previous post. Sometimes food masks, or almost gets in the way of the wine. Maybe I am being pretentious :) Just a thought. When I had it..it was before food. Found it amazing. Definitely on my top list.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, that's an interesting thought. This isn't the first time that I've had a wine once and thought it was great and been disappointed the second time - I'll have to pay more attention to how food affects things and see if I can detect a pattern. Anyway, I'm gald we didn't steer you wrong with the first review.
ReplyDeleteJust tapping into a bottle of this 2006 Crozes-Hermitage, and thought I would share.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed to see the differences in the color of the cork when a bottle of wine is opened. I find you get a glimpse of what is to come; the prologue to a story. When you open a bottle and the cork is a very light raspberry color, or a dark garnet or almost black color (my favourite)..."It was a cool fall day" or perhap a similar opening line, then as the wine pours into the glass we are led further into the plot.
This cork for this wine is a light plum, amlost lilac color, and I find the nose agrees. Floral and lightly perfumed notes. You can almost smell a lilac bush mixed with a bit of gravel. Summer wind and a light refreshing feel on the nose as well as the palate.
This is medium bodied easy to drink wine; a hint of lavendar and semi dried cranberries that really opens up 3 or 4 seconds into the mouth, and lingers for another few seconds (a faint trace of cherry nibs at the tail end). A nice soft lingering finish that leaves no hollow spots, and has the right combination of puckery tannin and fruit. Fantastique!
Better than I expected, I would defintely rate this a bit higher than the others who have posted here (92). I agree with Kelly's post that it has the ability to reach and please a broad audience.
Just had another sip and don't know if any will be able to survive until tomorrow to see if any change is noticed.
Vasco, I enjoy the narrative style of your reviews.
ReplyDeleteInteresting commentary - there's a wide range of opinions out there on this one. Parker 88, Spectator 91, Cellartracker comments 83-91. I would sum it up as clamato juice, wild game blood, served up on a bed of gravel. I got no fruit, garrigue, or floral components. It was interesting, but I would not say enjoyable - for me. I wish I could have experienced what Vasco had!!
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