Domaine Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023

Alain Graillot’s 2023 white Crozes-Hermitage is a deliciously silky yet vibrant blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, pressed as bunches and fermented with indigenous yeasts in a mix of one-year-old, 600-litre demi-muids and stainless steel. The fruit comes from a 2.7-hectare plot on the deep alluvial soils of Pont-de-l’Isère, in the southern sector of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation. The nature of the soils and low yields from the old vines (now reaching 40 years of age) prompt Maxime to maintain freshness and compensate for the richness of fruit—particularly the Marsanne—by arresting malolactic conversion. He bottles under screwcap for the same reason. Not dissimilar to the 2022, the new release is amply textured, with attractive peach skin and earthy pear fruit wrapped in silky, focussed roundness and finishing with a little grip and the gentle warmth of ripe Marsanne.