Maison Nicolas Perrin Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2008
The vineyard of Crozes Hermitage isn’t as old as that of Hermitage. It developed over this century towards the south to the detriment of fruit orchards.
In the north the terroir is composed of granite slopes similar to those of Hermitage. In the south the soil is mainly alluvial with a few stony terraces brought by the Rhône river. The vines are south facing, on slopes where the Mistral blows frequently. The wines produced in the North and those in the South of the appellation are very different.
2008 was a difficult vintage due to the temperamental weather. The flowering had already given signs of a small crop. After and average summer temperature-wise, violent storms broke out over the weekend of September 6th and 7th. Thereafter, cool nights and sunny days along with the Mistral privileged the end of the cycle up to harvest. This milder weather helped limit the impact of the rain and had a positive effect on the general sanitary state of the vineyard. Harvest started quite late, towards the 25th September and ended beginning of October. This difficult year required a lot of sorting in the vineyard and in the cellar.
Crozes Hermitage is the biggest vineyard among the Northern Rhône appellations with over 1300 hectares. It is spread over 11 different communes situated in the department of La Drôme on the left bank of the Rhône river.
The grapes are cold-macerated before being fermented to increase the aromas of fruit. Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping-over for the first few days followed by punching-down. Ageing takes place in barrels for 10 months and then in stainless steel for another 6 months.
The wine is ruby red.
The bouquet is like a bowl of red fruit.
The mouth shows a rich, balanced and concentrated wine.
This wine offers immediate pleasure. As soon as you open it the fruit is there. You can serve this wine at about 16-17°C with grilled food.
Syrah : 100 %
Their adventure should have been called “Jaboulet-Perrin” or “Beaucastel-La Chapelle” but when the family business is sold by one of the partners and bans them to use their patronymic, they came up with “Maison Nicolas Perrin”. This young negociant company is therefore the partnership between two major heirs : Nicolas Jaboulet (ex Director of Maison Paul Jaboulet & Fils) and Marc Perrin (Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pape). In 2008 these two men from the Rhône Valley get together to mature and sell wine. Their mission is to locate quality plots of Syrah, create partnerships with the winegrowers and follow the winemaking process. The wine is barrelled at the winegrowers and then blended and aged in the Perrin cellars near Orange. Marc blends and Nicolas manages the sales and administration. They are very selective and only work with a dozen of barrels (35 000 bottles in 2010). Bring on the next selections !
A. Gerbelle
La Revue du Vin de France
, 2011-11-01