2004 Crozes Hermitage Cuvee Christophe

The 2004 Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee Christophe has a slightly more saturated ruby/purple color, and is a bigger wine with more new oak and concentration. It is medium to full-bodied, somewhat backward, and in need of 2-3 years of bottle age; it should last 10-12 years. It is a strong effort for the vintage. In 2003 Remizieres produced some extraordinarily thick, almost super-concentrated, over-the-top wines that were named Cuvee l’Essentiel for the Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage. Readers should note that in 2004 the wine was renamed Patience, and in 2005 it’s called Autremonde. Proprietor Philippe Desmeures, along with the Chave and Sorrel families, are among the very few small family operations still left in Hermitage. Hermitage, which only consists of just over 300 acres, is dominated by the large firms of Paul Jaboulet-Aine, Chapoutier, Delas, and Guigal, with very few small operations still in existence, but this is one of them. Desmeures has clearly moved into the more modern style of winemaking in the northern Rhone. In the richest vintages his aggressive new oak regime works well, but in the lighter years, it is a gamble. A Patrick Lesec Selection, various American importers, including Chemin des Vins, Sherborn, MA; tel. (508) 545-1532; Vermont Wine Merchants, Burlington, VT; tel. (802) 658-6771; Noble House, New York, NY; tel. (212) 736-0040; Wm. Harrison Imports, Manassas, VA; tel. (703) 815-9463; The Stacole Company, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998-0029, Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, Silver State, Reno, NV; tel. (775) 331-3400; and Wine Warehouse, Commerce, CA; tel. (323) 724-1700