2023 Domaine des Remizières "Cuvée Christophe" Crozes-Hermitage

The 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Christophe sports a deep purple hue as well as cassis, black olives, pepper, and ample meaty, smoky nuances on the nose. Aged 15 months in barrels (70% new, 30% one-year-old), it's medium to full-bodied, has nicely integrated oak, and outstanding length. It's always made in a slightly more modern yet beautifully balanced style and will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for a solid decade.

Our story with Domaine des Remizières begins nearly a decade ago. They had parted company with their national importer, and I was on the hunt for a serious but not overly serious producer from the Northern Rhône. When I first tasted the wines, I knew they fit a great niche in our Direct Import portfolio — showing the generosity and density you might expect from Hermitage, but in their regular Crozes-Hermitage bottlings. I eventually met Émilie Desmeures, the winemaker who, along with her brother Christophe, was beginning to take over the day-to-day responsibilities from their father, Philippe — though he is still very actively involved today. Émilie really believes in the purity and vibrancy of the fruit, choosing to destem all of their Syrah before fermentation. There’s a range of barrel sizes and oak usage depending on the cuvée, but the winemaking always feels thoughtful and balanced rather than overly worked. The Christophe bottling is 100% Syrah, mostly from the hillside slopes around Larnage, just north of the hill of Hermitage. Some of the vines are planted over kaolin, a powdery white clay, while the rest comes from parcels with more classic clay-limestone soils. Fermentation takes place in large oak vats, and the wine is aged in a mix of new and used barrels. This has always been a showstopper of a red for us, going all the way back to the first vintage we brought in — the 2014. The wine consistently delivers deep blackberry fruit along with notes of cassis, fig jam, smoked meats, and spice. Rich on the palate, it drinks great now with a quick decant, but it will also evolve beautifully over the next five to ten years. I love it with smoky barbecue or grilled sausages over creamy garlicky beans — the kind of hearty food that just makes Syrah from the Northern Rhône shine.