Maison Les Alexandrins

Crozes - Hermitage

White 2020

A powerful white Crozes-Hermitage with complex notes, characterised by freshness and remarkable aromatic intensity.

Marsanne and Roussanne vines with an average age of 20 years.

Serve at 12°C. Ideally drink within the next 3 to 5 years.

Grilled fish (sole, sea bream), white meats and especially poultry.

After the hail damage of 2019, we had to nurse our vineyards back to health with a range of gentle but complementary nutrients. This made 2020 a technically exacting year, especially since the weather reserved many surprises for us. Spring was extraordinarily hot and dry and, despite a short break in June when some welcome rain fell, summer saw a continuation of drought conditions right up until the harvest. With a high risk of mildew at the start of the season, constant and unpredictable winds, powdery mildew half way through the season and the threat of high temperatures and scorching, we were spared nothing, and it required a major effort to cope. Fortunately, the occasional shower, fairly cool nights and morning dew meant the vines did not suffer too much from the summer heat, and all our hard work seems to have paid off with the promise of a fine vintage. To avoid the hottest moments of the day, we began picking from 6 am so as to pick the grapes while they were cool. We began with the whites on August 19 and continued with the reds through until September 16. First tastings revealed aromatic wines of great freshness, with degrees rarely exceeding 13.5°. After so many twists and turns, it is a vintage that reverts to origin in a very “Northern Rhône” style, after the mediterranean vintages of 2018 and 2019.

Our wine comes from Marsanne and Roussanne vines, which are on average 20 years old.

- Vinified in demi-muids (60-litre capacity barrels).
- 50% aged in demi-muids and 50% in concrete egg vats for 6 months.

After 8 months of aging in demi-muids, this wine reveals its perfectly balanced blend between the buttery Marsanne and the tightness of Roussanne. It offers a superb bouquet of smoky notes and toasted bread subtly mixed with aromas of white fruit. This precocious vintage with perfect maturity is to be enjoyed over the next 3 to 5 years.