2016 Maxime Graillot Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhone

Maxime Graillot's estate grown Crozes comes from a single vineyard near the village of Beaumont-Monteux, only a couple of kilometres from his father's vines. Here, in the most south-easterly part of the appellation, the soils are full of gravel and alluvial stones, low in clay and fast draining - very similar to the Domaine Alain Graillot soils in Les Chênes Verts, just to the north. This soil type lends itself to a refined, aromatic Syrah with a pronounced savoury profile. Planted throughout the 1980s, the vines are now managed organically (as are the Alain Graillot vineyards that Maxime also manages). Like the Alain Graillot wines, the fermentations are entirely natural, although Graillot Jr. uses only a small whole bunch component, usually in the realm of 20-30%, and this wine tends to 'come around' earlier than the wines that carry the Alain Graillot name. The 2016 was fermented in concrete vats and then racked into one, two and three year old Burgundy barrels purchased from some of the top estates in Burgundy. There is also a tiny component (less than 10%) of new barrels that are purchased from the Atelier Centre France, whose bespoke steam-bent barrels are now used at Guiberteau, Didier Dagueneau and François Chidaine. The wine spends 11 months in barrel and is then brought together for three months in large fût tronconique. It was bottled unfiltered. As the note below says, this is delicious. Loads of pulpy black cherry and crushed black olive (great palates taste alike?). Fruit as well as spicy, cedary notes flood the palate while the finish is long, perfumed and wonderfully refreshing with juicy acidity and a pinch of fine tannins. This is seriously good which is another reason we are offering to historical buyers first - we don't want followers of this label to miss out!