The wine shows a deep ruby red color and has plenty to offer with red and black fruit aromas, as well as a good minerality.
The finish is long, clean and juicy and offers some white pepper spiciness typical of the best Crozes-Hermitage.
Delicious with grilled red meat and most cheeses.
"The 2022 Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette comes from a single lieu-dit and was aged 15 months entirely in French oak barrels averaging 20 years old. Ripe blackberries, black olive, iron, leather, and pepper all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with a supple, elegant mouthfeel and a great finish. It's going to have a solid decade of longevity."
- Jeb Dunnuck (Importer Highlight: Fran Kysela ; July 2024), 91 pts
"Opaque ruby. Displays lively, spice-tinged cherry, blueberry, pungent flowers and candied violet on the perfumed nose. Rich but energetic in the mouth, offering gently sweet red and blue fruit flavors and a spicy suggestion of cracked pepper. Finishes with gentle, slowly building tannins, hint of salty olive and very good, spicy persistence. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2022), 91 pts
"The medium to full-bodied 2019 Crozes Hermitage La Rochette features swirls of red and black fruit, with a nice savory touch of black olives. It's concentrated and somewhat tannic, with a rich, velvety mouthfeel and a long, chewy finish. Undestemmed and matured only in older oak, it's a classic expression of granite-based Crozes.- Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (January 2022), 90+ pts
"The 2018 Crozes Hermitage La Rochette kicks off with bold blueberry aromas accented by hints of cracked pepper and clove—but this is no mere fruit bomb. The medium to full-bodied palate shows ample depth and tannic structure, adding savory notes of black olives and leather, then finishes long and smooth. It's a terrific wine for drinking over the next decade. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (May 2021), 92 pts
"Lots of mulberries, blackberries, new leather, and peppery herbs all emerge from the 2018 Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette, a classic, balanced, almost old school style Crozes. With ripe yet firm tannins and outstanding length, give bottles a year or three and enjoy over the following decade."
- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2020), 90 pts
"Perfumed whiffs of violet candy and cassis introduce this vibrant, slender expression of Syrah. Medium-bodied and restrained in style, it offers a cutting black fruit quality framed by fine, upright tannins and a peppery finish. It's ready now but should drink at peak through 2024. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"
- Wine Enthusiast (February/March 2021), 91 pts
"The 2017 Crozes Hermitage La Rochette combines gentle notes of cracked pepper with ripe blueberries in a full-bodied, creamy-textured wine. It's lush on the palate, only firming up on the lengthy, mouthwatering finish. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (January 2020), 91 pts
"While medium-bodied in frame, this densely packed Syrah heaves with luscious, almost pulpy, black-cherry and blueberry flavors. Its rounded, fleshy nature is amplified by sunny acidity and smooth, gentle tannins, but bright streaks of violet and crushed granite invigorate the midpalate. It's ready to drink now but should hold through 2026. Anna Lee C. IIJIMA"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (July 2019), 91 pts
Go To Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette
"A big step up in quality (for not much step up in price), the 2015 Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette comes from slightly more granite soils and spent 12-15 months in neutral barrels. It has beautiful purity of fruit as well as classic notes of ripe black fruits, bloody meat, saddle leather, peppery herbs, and some telltale minerality. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and textured, it’s a rock star of a Crozes Hermitage to drink over the coming decade or so."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 93 pts
Go To Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette
"Hints of charcuterie and smoke lend flair and elegance to pristine blackberry and black cherries on the palate here. It's a full-bodied but freshly balanced wine with firm, taut tannins. The finish lingers on delicate spice and mineral tones. It should improve through 2025 and hold further. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (September 2018), 92 pts
Go To Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette
"(made with whole clusters and fermented and aged in neutral oak barrels) Lurid ruby. Smoke-accented dark berry and floral scents, joined in the glass by cracked pepper, camphor and allspice nuances. Sappy and sharply focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry, cassis and licorice flavors that deepen and unfurl slowly on the back half. Nicely concentrated yet lithe, showing excellent clarity and youthful tannic grip on a long, spice-driven finish. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (July 2017), 91 pts
Go To Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette
Domaine Jean-Claude & Nicolas Fayolle is located in the village of Gervans, 5 kilometers north from Tain-l'Hermitage in the Drome department. Nicolas Fayolle represents the 3rd generation of the family ...
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