Crozes-Hermitage

This is a very nice Syrah from the Northern Rhone Valley.  Purple  in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, roasted meats, slight floral tones and spices.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is more middle of the road in style for a Syrah.  Flavors of black raspberries with some roasted meats and minerality.  Nice finish.  Nice on its own, this will be a bit better with food.  It would work well with burgers or ribs off the grill.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This is 100% Syrah from the northern Rhone.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, smoke, slight gamey meat and black olives.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  Lovely jammy texture.  On the palate, loads of ripe black raspberries with some char and black pepper.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work well with foods.  Grilled meats would be a nice choice.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

A very nice northern Rhone white, perhaps a bit lighter in style, but in a good way. It is a blend of 95% Marsanne, and 5% Roussanne.  Light yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with vanilla, peach, pears and spice.  Medium bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, tangerine with slight lemon peel and the oak/spice continues thru to the finish.  A bit of grapefruit on the finish as well.  This is very nice on its own but even better with food.  It went well with a vegetarian cassoulet.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is a nice Syrah from the Northern Rhone that is not expensive and drinking well now.  Garnet in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is tight at first but opens quickly showing black cherries, char, slight black raspberries and slight black olive.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries with char and good acidity.  Nice finish.  This should drink well for the next five to seven years.  A nice wine with pizza or a (veggie) burger.  

This is a Syrah from the Northern Rhone Valley in France.  Crozes-Hermitage is a great source of values and this is one of the best wines made.  At age ten, this is cruising along and just entering adulthood.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, slight bacon fat and spice.  Pretty classic.  On the palate, this shows a tight complexity that unwinds in the glass.  Layers of black raspberries with an earthiness and a meatiness to it.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This should drink well for the nest ten years.  A nice match with brisket or roasted chi

Crozes is an excellent source for great values in Syrah.  This is another example.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, slight bacon fat and roasted meats and black olives.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the black raspberries are upfront with underlying minerality and char.  This is drinking deliciously now, but it seems to have the stuffing to improve a bit.  it certainly has ten years left, or more, of great drinking.  A nice match for charcuterie or roasted meats and veggies.   

This is, of course, young, but already drinking well.  2015 was such a delicious year in the northern Rhone.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, violets, and slight spice.  On the palate, this is ripe/slightly sweet.  Nothing close to cloying.  It should calm down with some age.  Lots of depth.  Nice full bodied texture.  Plenty of black raspberry fruit.  Nice finish.  At this point, this will need big food but should calm down.  This has ten to fifteen years and probably more.  Definitely a point or two of upside. It really is an excellent value.  

This is always a great value.  Just a step up from the Cotes du Rhone and a bit deeper and darker.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, slight violets, cedar and pepper.  On the palate, this is juicy with bold black raspberry fruit.  Slight tannins.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  2015 was a great year in the Northern Rhone and value wines like this are a great play.  It should be good for the next five to seven years at least.  Great with stews, meats and spicier foods.  

Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, slight raspberries, a bit of minerality and spice.  On the palate, this is mid-weight.  Drinking well right now.  Light tannins.  Good acidity.  Ripe enough black raspberry fruit.  This will work well with stews and roasts and is better with food.  Some peppery qualities on the finish.  Probably needs to be consumed in the next five years.  

This was brought to a dinner party by a friend who reps the wine.  It was the first time trying this winery, but of course 2015 is such a great vintage in the Northern Rhone that my expectations were high.  Indeed, this wine delivers.  It is an old school styled wine that really has a lot going on.  It retails for around $25 which is a nice value.  Purple in color, a bit flat in appearance.  The nose is great but there is some funk/barnyard (if that bothers you).  Also some plums, a bit of spice and black pepper.  On the palate, this has light tannins.  Good acidity.  Black raspberries and