Alain Graillot - Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude 2020
Price: $63.99
| Producer | Alain Graillot |
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| Country | France |
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| Region | Rhone Valley |
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| Subregion | Crozes Hermitage |
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| Varietal | Rhone Blend |
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| Vintage | 2020 |
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| Sku | 35810 |
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James Suckling: 95 Points
A fragrant nose of spiced cherries, ripe blackberries, dried herbs, baking spices and hints of earth follow through to a medium body with finely grained tannins. It has precision with a slight bitterness on the mid-palate. Layered and funnelled with a mineral edge. Long savory and spicy finish. Best after 2026.
Vinous: 94 Points
Opaque ruby. A complex, expansive bouquet evokes fresh dark berries, olive, potpourri and incense, and exotic spice and mineral notes build steadily with air. Sweet, focused and penetrating on the palate, offering intense, spice-tinged boysenberry, cherry preserve and violet pastille flavors braced by a core of juicy acidity. Blends concentration and energy with a deft hand and finishes with superb, gently tannic persistence.
Wine Spectator: 93 Points
Very focused, with a sanguine thread weaving around gentle steeped plum and black currant fruit, all backed by singed mesquite notes and a mouthwatering minerally edge. Should age nicely.
Wine Advocate: 93 Points
Showing greater intensity and complexity than the regular bottling, the 2016 Crozes Hermitage la Guiraude also is made entirely whole cluster, yet it shows less prominent stemmy notes. Olive, roasted meat and cherry notes mingle easily on the nose and palate. This is medium to full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, fine, elegant finish. It should drink well for over a decade.
