Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2017

Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Rouge is Maxime Graillot's estate Syrah, drawn from a single gravel vineyard at the south-eastern edge of the appellation.

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest appellation of the northern Rhône, spreading north and south of the hill of Hermitage across terraces and gentler plain. The Domaine des Lises fruit comes from one vineyard near the village of Beaumont-Monteux, only a couple of kilometres from Alain Graillot's vines, where the soils are full of gravel and alluvial stones, low in clay and fast-draining. That soil type suits a refined, aromatic Syrah with a pronounced savoury profile. Planted through the 1980s, the vines are managed organically. Fermentations are entirely natural and Graillot uses only a small whole-bunch component, usually 20-30 per cent, so the wine comes around earlier than the fully whole-bunch cuvées under the Alain Graillot label. Fermented in concrete vats, it is racked into one-, two- and three-year-old Burgundy barrels with a small new-oak component, spends 11 months in barrel and three months assembled in large fût tronconique, and is bottled unfiltered.

Approachable on release and worth five to eight years in the cellar. Serve at 16-18°C with roast lamb, peppered steak or a lentil and mushroom braise.

*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.