Barruol Lynch Crozes Hermitage Tiercerolles 2020 750 ML

Louis Barruol is one of the rare experts of both northern and southern Rhone terroirs. Having originally made a name for himself through his grand Gigondas cuvee, he approached Kermit fifteen years ago to collaborate on a handful of appellations to the north, specifically in Cote-Rotie, Hermitage, and—perhaps most ambitiously—Crozes-Hermitage.\n\nThis AOC has long lived in the shadow of its more illustrious neighbor due to the fact that, decades ago, the French wine authorities expanded Crozes-Hermitage, adding large swaths of flat, undistinguished vineyard sites to the appellation, thereby ruining the reputation of the historic hillside terroir. Believing in the enduring possibilities of the great, Louis and Kermit identified some of the most promising parcels among the appellation’s 1,200 hectares. They settled on vineyards north of Hermitage and just east of the Rhone River near the commune of Gervans, planted on granite hills that give the wine both strength and finesse.