Laurent Fayolle Hermitage Les Diognieres Rouge 2019
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Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Certified organic. 100% Syrah. From a 0.3 ha parcel in the highest section of Les Diognieres. 60+ year old vines. Clay and limestone soil. Fermented in 1-3-year-old 600L barrels. Aged in 1-3-year-old barrique. Unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a site on the eastern side of the hill, the 2019 Hermitage Les Diognieres reveals a dense purple color as well as a beautiful array of cassis and darker berry fruits along with notes of pepper, loamy earth, and cedary spice. Just gorgeous on the palate and all about finesse and elegance, it has silky tannins, full body, no hard edges, and remarkable balance. I love it today, yet it has a solid 20+ years of longevity ahead of it.
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Decanter
A fresh, lifted, intense nose with star anise, incense, and clove among the black fruits. Very powerful but not massively full-bodied, the alcohol however is high. Though fine, the tannins just a little hard, and there's a touch of slightly drying oak tannin. Finishes long and will be good in time. The oak influence is pronounced but it works with the wine. From a 0.28ha plot in lieu-dit Les Dionnières at the foot of the hill. 60-year-old vines, all destemmed. Vinified in open demi-muids, manual punching down two or three times a day. Followed by malolactic fermentation and 14 months ageing in barriques.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cedar and cracked pepper notes mark the nose of the fully destemmed 2019 Hermitage les Dionnieres, backed by ripe blueberries and black cherries. Smooth, ripe and creamy in feel, this full-bodied yet supple Hermitage looks to be a top-flight effort. With the concentration and balance evidenced on the long, silky finish, it's delicious now and should still be going strong well into the next decade.
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Wine Spectator
Inviting, with warm plum compote and cherry pâte de fruit notes laced with melted red licorice, red tea, fruitcake and floral accents. The nice polished feel through the finish adds to the flattering style. Best from 2023
Other Vintages
2020- Vinous
- Decanter
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.”
A long and narrow valley producing flavorful red, white, and rosé wines, the Rhône is bisected by the river of the same name and split into two distinct sub-regions—north and south. While a handful of grape varieties span the entire length of the Rhône valley, there are significant differences between the two zones in climate and geography as well as the style and quantity of Rhône wines produced. The Northern Rhône, with its continental climate and steep hillside vineyards, is responsible for a mere 5% or less of the greater region’s total output. The Southern Rhône has a much more Mediterranean climate, the aggressive, chilly Mistral wind and plentiful fragrant wild herbs known collectively as ‘garrigue.’
In the Northern Rhône, the only permitted red variety is Syrah, which in the appellations of St.-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, it produces velvety black-fruit driven, savory, peppery red wines often with telltale notes of olive, game and smoke. Full-bodied, perfumed whites are made from Viognier in Condrieu and Château-Grillet, while elsewhere only Marsanne and Roussanne are used, with the former providing body and texture and the latter lending nervy acidity. The wines of the Southern Rhône are typically blends, with the reds often based on Grenache and balanced by Syrah, Mourvèdre, and an assortment of other varieties. All three northern white varieties are used here, as well as Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourbelenc and more. The best known sub-regions of the Southern Rhône are the reliable, wallet-friendly Côtes du Rhône and the esteemed Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Others include Gigondas, Vacqueyras and the rosé-only appellation Tavel.