2017 Crozes Hermitage Les Varonniers
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Tasting notes
Opaque violet. Highly perfumed red and dark berry, exotic spice, incense, violet and smoky bacon aromas show outstanding clarity and pick up hints of black tea and licorice with air. Deeply concentrated, mineral-accented red and blue fruit preserve and bitter cherry flavors are complemented by a hint of candied flowers on the back half. Broad and chewy in texture, showing noteworthy tension and finishing with strong, floral- and mineral-dominated persistence and youthful tannins that lend solid final grip. This wine is sourced from two small, west-facing sites abutting the Hermitage hill and shares the same soils as the famed Hermitage lieu-dit Les Bessards. In most vintages, Like 2017, it can easily rival many an Hermitage for depth, power and complexity, not to mention age-worthiness.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers is a wild beauty with Hermitage notes of blackberries, cassis, crushed rock, game, and burning embers. It has plenty of upfront, sexy fruit yet is concentrated, full-bodied, and deep on the palate, with abundant tannins. There are 456 cases of this beauty. Don’t miss a chance to buy a bottle. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age but is capable of evolving for 20-25 years. This was another stunning tasting with the team at Chapoutier. They’ve produced some of the wines of the vintage in both 2017 and 2018. The team here compares 2017 to 2007, which is a comparison I understand, even if I think the quality of their 2017s are a step up. Both vintages were hot and dry, and the wines have expressive, sunny profiles. I reviewed their top 2017 dry whites last year, but the 2017 reds showed spectacularly well this year, most coming in at the upper end of their barrel range. Looking at the 2018s, this is another blockbuster year at this estate and the wines reveal even deeper purple (almost blue) hues compared their 2017 counterparts as well as a touch more freshness in their aromatics reminiscent of a cooler vintage. Nevertheless, these are big, rich, concentrated wines that have building tannins and structure as well as loads of fruit, and are built for the cellar. One of the beauties of the 2018s is that the wines have a wonderful sense of freshness and purity reminiscent of a cooler year, yet paired with the fruit, depth, and richness of a warmer year. Lastly, the lineup here seems to grow each year and at present, includes two sparkling wines, three Saint-Péray, two Condrieu, two Cornas, four Côte Rôtie, six Crozes Hermitage, nine Hermitage, and six Saint Joseph. Also, there are a handful of Vin de France and IGP releases. The top “Sélections Parcellaires” cuvées range from 300 to 1,000 cases, and while they can be frightfully expensive, they’re among the greatest wines in the world. However, don’t overlook the value releases from Chapoutier, where you get serious bang for the buck.
Rich, concentrated and tannic, the 2017 Crozes Hermitage les Varonniers comes from a parcel of vines grown on the same granite in Hermitage as les Bessards, but it has a west-facing aspect. Dark plum and crushed-stone notes pick up hints of cassis and cedar shavings in this full-bodied, muscular red.
Super fresh, purple and blue fruit here with attractive, spicy complexity; herbs and pepper abound. The palate has a deeply structured array of ripe-berry, meaty and cedary flavors and delivers a long, flinty finish. Drink or hold.