Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2021

Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Blanc comes from Les Pends, a south-facing limestone site widely held to be the appellation’s best for white.

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest of the northern Rhône appellations, and most of its white comes from the flat alluvial land around Pont-de-l’Isère. Les Pends is different: a sloping, south-facing hillside on white clay and chalk, and one of the most coveted white terroirs in the region. Maxime Graillot waited years for a parcel and finally secured one in 2014, just 0.4 hectares of forty-year-old vines densely planted to seventy-five per cent Marsanne and twenty-five per cent Roussanne. The limestone lets the fruit ripen while keeping a mouth-watering structure. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed, spontaneously fermented and raised in a 600-litre demi-muid and a 300-litre cigar barrel. Unlike the white from the family’s Domaine Alain Graillot, the malolactic conversion is not blocked, since the limestone soils supply enough freshness on their own.

Drinking well now and good for five or six years. Serve at 10-12°C with roast chicken, pork belly or a rich fish pie.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.