Northern Rhône 2020

This wine is only made in the best vintages. It comes from a vineyard that sits between Sabarotte and Savaux, right in the middle of the slope. The wine’s intensity is dialled up, thanks to the 30% whole bunch fruit used and ageing in 20% new oak. There is so much density here, with abundant but fondant tannins, and a weight of blackcurrant intensity that warrants long ageing. This will reward the patient.

The final ever vintage from Bernard Faurie, as he finally settles into his well-deserved retirement. And what a way to bow out, with this spectacular 2020 vintage. It is a blend of Greffieux, Méal, and Bessards, three of Hermitage’s finest sites. Full of gorgeous, luscious, fluid fruit density, with mineral detail, light-footed, silky tannins, and a superbly sustained finish.

La Viallière is one of the great sites of the Côte Brune. Its mid-slope position and high proportion of gravelly stones aid drainage and produce wines of great finesse. This continues on from Clusel Roch’s blended Côte-Rôtie, Les Schistes, in the red fruit frame, but it has a deeper, more voluminous back-palate. There is a definition here unique to the specific site.

This cuvée is always the most powerful in the Clusel Roch stable. It comes from vines planted in 1935 by Guillaume Clusel’s great-grandfather. The parcel sits high up, above La Viallière, and makes a dense, complex, and structured wine. The tannins are compact in their youth, and it will need some time in bottle to unfurl. This is gourmand and statuesque Syrah.

This is one of the finest sites of the Côte Blonde, and it produces a wine of huge elegance and subtlety, although you’ll want to tuck it away for a few years before pulling the cork.

This is a fantastic site on the Côte Brune, shared between just three growers. The vines were replanted in 1980 and 2001, and their youthful vigour produces a juicy wine, with a rounded balance. 30% whole bunch and 30% new oak add silkiness and depth.

Le Gréal is a unique and special blend, and the signature wine of the Sorrel domaine. 90% is drawn from the lauded Le Méal parcel, at 10% from Les Gréffieux, on the Hermitage hillside. There is a small amount of Marsanne co-planted amongst the Syrah that makes it into the blend, adding freshness and mollifying the tannins. These Sorrel vines date back to 1928 and produce exquisite concentration, making it a wine that rewards cellaring.

Pierre only started bottling this vineyard separately in 2016, and it has since proved it’s a cuvée well-worth following. It comes from a half hectare parcel just north of La Landonne which is home to 80-year-old vines planted by Pierre’s grandfather. He decided to isolate the parcel as he says every year these vines make such a pure and quintessential expression of Côte-Rôtie they deserved their own spotlight. In 2020 it is stridently Syrah, with dark cassis fruit and an aromatic freshness.

Like the Côte Blonde, this is only produced in tiny volumes, and demand is always huge. It has a fabulously expressive nose in its youth, and so much power on the young palate, this will surely go on for decades.

This is one of the most sought-after wines in the Rostaing stable, and only produced in tiny volumes, It displays a decadent nose, with a palate of ample structure and volumes. It will need time, but this has a promising future ahead.

This is quite possibly Côte-Rôtie’s most famous vineyard. In Pierre Rostaing’s hands this 2020 is dense and grippy, with a sophisticated restraint. Powerful and captivating.

Pur Noir is only ever a single parcel, and only ever made in the best years. The parcel changes each time, depending on Stéphane’s preference. In 2020 it was drawn from La Combe, and only a few barrels were made. This south-facing slope creates a sensational wine, with depth and flare.

This legendary wine comes from the vines situated right at the top of the Hermitage hill, near the chapel, on very old, decomposed granite soils. The 80 year old vines produce a concentrated, spiced wine, with lots of pepper on the nose, and seamless tannins.

25% new oak gives this superb Syrah the support, structure, and seasoning it needs for its deep, cherry soaked, peppery expression. It will demand a little time, but will deliver.

Greffieux is situated at the bottom of the Hermitage hill on alluvial soils. This Chapoutier cuvee is on a spectacular run of form. So juicy, fleshy and full, with detailed, poised tannins.

Jaboulet’s Hermitage La Chapelle is a wine of legendary status, with a great legacy of past vintages. For many, it is the defining wine of the Hermitage hill. It comes from a blend of parcels, and takes its name from the small hermit’s chapel that sits at the western end of the hill, with a commanding view of the appellation and the town of Tain-l’Hermitage and the Rhône River below. It’s a pilgrimage spot for any wine lover visiting the region. The 2020 is, of course, a big, powerful, tannic, structured wine, as we have come to expect from this wine. Yet it is also restrained and layered on the palate, and displays a red-fruit detail and elegance that really mark it out as special. This should age for many years (decades) to come.

In the time of Thomas Jefferson, Hermitage had been more celebrated for its whites than its reds. The Jaboulet family had proudly produced a Chapelle blanc from the hill of Hermitage up until 1961. But it wasn’t until the Frey family took over in 2006 that the cuvée returned, and even since then, has only been produced in a handful of vintages in tiny quantities. 2020 is a threshold moment for the cuvée; the start of a new chapter. It comes from two parcels: La Maison Blanche and l’Ermite. The vines in La Maison Blanche are a staggering 110 years old, and are given centre stage in this wine that gleams with energy and potential. The wine is vinified and aged exclusively in concrete, with no oak at all - relatively unusual for an Hermitage Blanc. It bursts with zingy lime and yuzu juice, white flowers, and delicate, refined bitterness, giving structure to the wine’s natural power.

This is an explosive, wild Hermitage, with youthful energy and tension. The nose and palate are drenched in blue and black fruits, liquorice, graphite and spice. The oak needs a little while to fully integrate, so don’t attack this too soon. Instead, tuck it away, and in a few years, the seamless, sinewy might of Hermitage will emerge. The name comes not from a parcel, but from the small stone house with blue shutters that sits in the vines at the eastern end of the Hermitage hill.

This comes from the vineyards of the Côte Blonde, and is built around a silky, sensuous black fruit character. Mineral, tight, and vibrant in character.