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Of recent vintages, 2020 may be the most consistent, as these wines demonstrate.
All wines below are red.
La GRAND COMTADINE/Héritiers CHÉRON-MISSET
2020 Crozes-Hermitage
This is a négociant wine from La Grand (sic) Comtadine in Gigondas (founded in 1924). The wine is round and smooth, medium-weight, and shows typical dark plum Syrah fruit. It should make good drinking over then next 3-5 years, at least. Cork closure. 13.5% stated alcohol. Lot LCRHOV20. 88/B+
Alain GRAILLOT
Alas, Alain Graillot, who provided excellent wines for over thirty-five years, died earlier this year.
2020 Crozes-Hermitage
This wine is a fitting tribute to Alain, typical of the fine quality that he almost always achieved with this, his flagship wine. The wine features smoky dark plum aromas and flavors in a medium-weight body. Some tannins are present, but they are round enough to permit enjoyment of the wine, already. Cork closure. 13% stated alcohol. Lot L3. 90/A
2020 Saint-Joseph
In theory, Saint-Joseph is a better appellation than Crozes-Hermitage and should produce a better wine. But both appellations are notoriously uneven in quality and my experience has always been that Graillot’s Crozes overperforms and his Saint-Joseph underperforms with respect to expectations. There’s dark fruit here and it provides plenty of enjoyment in its smooth, medium-weight body; but the real depth, minerality, and complexity of the best of Saint-Joseph is not here. I’d drink this wine young, although there may be a decade or two of aging capacity. Cork closure. 13% stated alcohol. Lot L 5. 89/B+
Domaine JAMET/Corinne, Jean-Paul, et Loïc JAMET
2020 Côtes-du-Rhône
There’s a lot to like about this wine, entirely from Syrah near the Côte-Rôtie appellation. It shows forward dark plum fruit with iodide and soy overtones and a round, velvet texture. But on the palate some overripeness shows up, and as a result, the wine lacks penetration and some energy. Good for drinking over the next few years. Cork closure. 13.5% stated alcohol. 87/B+
Jean-Claude MARSANNE
2020 Crozes-Hermitage
Round and enjoyable for its relatively simple red cherry fruit, this is probably a wine best drunk over the next 3-5 years. Cork closure. 14% stated alcohol. 87/B