Over the last forty years, Alain Graillot was the torchbearer for the huge leaps in quality in Crozes-Hermitage. In 1985, he made his first wine with the inspiration and help of Burgundy vintners and friends Jean-Pierre de Smet of Domaine de l'Arlot and Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac. At the time, Crozes-Hermitage was largely unknown, even with the name of the famous hill of Hermitage attached to it. By the end of the 1990s, Graillot was making a name for himself thanks to his two Syrah bottlings, a regular Crozes and a barrel selection called La Guiraude that was only produced in years when he felt the quality merited it. The wines have an exceptional track record for aging well, and bottles from the late 1990s are still fresh and mind-meltingly complex. It’s not just hipster-sommelier bottle porn either, Graillot’s wines have earned seven appearances in Wine Spectator's annual Top 100 list, including three Top 10s. The La Guiraude is the more serious, deep-seated and longer-lived brother. It will reward cellaring and the tannins are more brooding than the regular Crozes-Hermitage. Very little of the Hermitage is ever available, and it is his smallest production bottling.
While Alain passed away two years ago, his son Maxime has been helming the Domaine since 2008. Under Maxime's direction the wines have been remarkable in their consistency. He has deftly handled one hot vintage after another, preserving Syrah's gritty black pepper and deceptively floral side with talent far beyond his years, and in cooler years like 2021 the wines are still intense and somehow also gorgeously elegant. These are some of my favorite Northern Rhône Syrahs, with the Hermitage being lights-out amazing every vintage and an incredible price for such blue chip terroir.
94 Points from James Sucking: "A very pure and floral nose with cherries, violets and plums as well. Medium body with velvety tannins and bright acidity. Such a succulent core of redcurrants and violets with minerality and a transparent character to the focused finish. Drink or hold."
