Crozes Hermitage

The name in the Rhône that everybody has heard of, and a particularly pretty place to visit with much to offer the wine tourist on both sides of the river. The village of Tain-l’Hermitage is a pretty as a picture in the summer. Sitting at the foot of the hill of Hermitage, with one side facing the mighty Rhône River, and behind the hill heading north you have some 2000 hectares of vines planted.

There has been a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of Crozes Hermitage these past 20 odd years as land has been, up until recently, relatively cheap in comparison to the Northern Côte-Rôtie sites with just as much a taste of the north for a fraction of the cost.

These days, the region is awash with new producers who always seem to have a link to the past. There is distinct difference in the wines from Crozes as opposed to say St Joseph and Hermitage, with much more alluvial soils and less granite, tending to lend more fruit forward wines and immediate generosity. We have two contrasting producers both making really great value, stylish wines.