M.Chapoutier, Les Varonniers, Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône, 2010

Tasting: Crozes-Hermitage 2010

Plums and chocolate on the nose, brooding. Rich, plump, weighty, concentrated, an oaky style but it works well, with ripe tannins and ample spice on the finish. Long.

Tasting: Crozes-Hermitage 2010

Dense colour then indecipherable nose of graphite, peat and incense. Palate more generous with summer pudding, hints of raspberry and gentle spice; tannins betray rather too much oak; a shame as the raw materials are sound.

Tasting: Crozes-Hermitage 2010

Oak, coffee, black cherry aroma, has substance. Palate sets off on a direct path – crisp, crunchy black fruit with a softening towards the finish, where oak charcoal comes through. Length is sound. Mainstream style, oak limited.