About this WINE
Domaine Marc Sorrel
Marc retired at the end of 2018, but his son, Guillaume, is now firmly at the helm. The 3.5-hectare domaine comprises parcels of old vines on the incredibly steep slopes of Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. For this talented and dedicated grower, simplicity and tradition are key. The wines made with low intervention, minimal de-stemming and no new wood in a charmingly unassuming cellar in the centre of Tain-l’Hermitage.
Guillaume was really pleased with his ’20s, describing them as smooth with good ripeness, but also displaying sharpness and minerality. He explains how this was helped in part by the late rains of ’19, ensuring good water reserves to his old vines, but also an early harvest on 24th August that kept all alcohol levels moderate. The quantity is, as always, regretfully small, but the quality is outstanding. This domaine continues to excel year on year, and the wines prove themselves to be exceptionally age-worthy.
Marsanne
Marsanne is the predominant white grape variety grown in the Northern Rhône where it is used to produce white St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, and Hermitage. It is a tricky grape to cultivate, being susceptible to diseases and being particularly sensitive to extreme climatic changes - if growing conditions are too cool, then it fails to ripen fully and produces thin, insipid wines, while, if too hot, the resultant wines are blowsy, overblown and out of balance.
In the Northern Rhône it tends to be blended with around 15% Rousanne and produces richly aromatic, nutty wines which age marvellously - the best examples are from Hermitage and particularly from Chapoutier. Increasingly it is being grown in the Southern Rhône and Languedoc Roussillon where it is bottled as a single varietal or blended with Roussanne, Viognier, and sometimes Chardonnay. It is also grown very successfully in Victoria in Australia where some of the world`s oldest Marsanne vines are to be found.
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Description
Made from equal shares of Marsanne and Roussanne, farmed in the Lanarge enclave, this was picked at the low yields of 28 hl/ha and has been matured for 15 months. This is the second vintage of Crozes Hermitage Blanc we purchased from M Sorrel and its acacia flowers, honeysuckle, white peach, quince and white currants notes are not that far removed from his more famous Hermitage whites.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Monsieur Sorrel compares 2011 to 2000 and advises that it has produced the highest crop since 2001. The modestly temperate and relatively lengthy growing season has produced wines of real clarity and definition, highlighting the personalities of the individual vineyards involved. He is especially proud of the wines from Crozes, for which he has hitherto been less famous.
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