WINEMAKER’S NOTES:
The small 2.55 hectare block of Syrah planted here, on the west-facing mistral-stripped side of the Hermitage hill, could well be one of the sweetest anomalies in the wine world. Its soil types, much more like Hermitage than the more rolling and often flat plantings of the broad swath of the surrounding Crozes, give it a distinction much like that of Hermitage. This plot, known as Varognes historically and officially recognized as a “lieu-dit,” is blended with wine from old Syrah vines in the Les Meysonniers site in southern Crozes-Hermitage. Only 500 cases are produced annually of this cuvée, Les Varonniers, whose name results from the contraction of the two vineyard sites from which its grapes originate.
Deep garnet red; very ripe red fruit and blackcurrant dominate, followed by raspberry, then licorice. Ample and solid, vanilla and jam at the finish.
90 Points – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
