Laurent Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Clos les Cornirets 2019
- Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Certified organic. 100% Syrah. A 0.83 ha monopole on the backside of the Hermitage hill in the original Crozes village of Crozes-Hermitage. Steep, terraced parcel that sits over granite. 70+ year old vines. De-stemmed. Fermented and aged in barrel (15% new). Indigenous yeast. Unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A touch of cola oak gives a certain resinous sappiness to the fruit at the fore - it's noticeable, but not overpowering, and will integrate in time. Fine tannins, good length and fresh - a success in 2019. From seventy-year-old vines on a granite slope in the north of the appellation. Spends 12 months in barriques, 20% new.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Much like the Les Pontaix bottling, the 2019 Crozes Hermitage Clos les Cornirets starts off with hints of crushed stone on the nose, plus blueberries and cassis and a handful of pencil shavings. From older vines (70+ years of age) and a more granitic site, it's also medium to full-bodied but comes across as slightly more concentrated and structured than Les Pontaix, with ripe tannins that shape the palate into a long, softly dusty finish. It should drink well for at least the rest of this decade.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly more expensive, the 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Clos Les Cornirets is more ruby/purple-hued and offers a rocking bouquet cassis, violets, bouquet garni, and orange blossom. It's pure, medium-bodied, and elegant on the palate, with silky tannins and a great finish. It's another terrific wine from this estate.
Other Vintages
2020- Vinous
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Crozes-Hermitage is Northern Rhone’s largest appellation, surrounding the steep granite faces of Hermitage to its north and south. Here the rolling vineyards are less extreme and its soils, rich in clay-limestone and alluvial matter, produce Syrahs that range from fruity and charming to lush and seductive. The Syrahs of Crozes-Hermitage have more mass than those from St. Joseph but are less intense than those from Hermitage. While many are intended for early consumption, some of the best Syrahs from Crozes-Hermitage will age beautifully for 5-10 years.
Up to 15% of white grapes may theoretically be added to red Crozes at the time of fermentation but whether this is done or not depends on the decision of the winemaker. The best Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs will be fleshy with black fruit (currant, blackberry and black cherry) and bay leaf qualities, notes of tar and stone, and a well-concentrated finish of smooth tannins.
About a tenth of the wine produced in Crozes-Hermitage is white, primarily composed of Marsanne supplemented by smaller amounts of Roussanne.