Domaine Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2024

Alain Graillot’s white Crozes-Hermitage is a 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. The structure and energy of the wine ebbs and flows between vintages; 2024 is on the punchy, citrus-salted and floral end of the spectrum. Already delicious, it will develop more honeyed richness with short term (three to five years) aging.