About this WINE
Domaine Maxime Graillot
Son of the wine-making doyen of Crozes-Hermitage, Alain Graillot, Maxime was initially unsure whether to assume the family mantle, despite having studied at Dijon Wine School.
The gauntlet was laid down with the inheritance/acquisition of 6.5 hectares just outside Pont de l’Isère in the heart of the Crozes Hermitage appellation; the challenge even more focused as the vines had been somewhat neglected.
With patience and industry Maxime has transformed the vineyard and increased the planting density by a factor of 200%. In the winery he has a head start, sharing his father’s facilities, and ageing his wines in old Burgundian casks, and yet, interestingly, he has adopted a subtly different approach when it comes to the winemaking, specifically to the racking of the wine ( to separate it from the fine lees) and the extent and manner of the aging.
As the vines come of age, so does the vigneron, and a string of excellent vintages proved his worth and to demonstrated that the Graillot dynasty is in very safe hands.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Small berries and low yields have added up to high quality, despite the hail issues over the Monteux vineyards. Reassuringly concentrated but with classic, generous, dark fruit aromas, the 2013 has a tyipical profile of tapenade, tobacco and raspberries with fine balancing acidity.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
Maxime Graillot and Thomas Schmittel make a very likeable team and, needless to say, very likeable wines. Their philosophy differs a little from that of Maxime’s father Alain, specifically in terms of destemming and racking, but they are pleasingly pragmatic on both fronts. The 2013 vintage, with its hail in Crozes-Hermitage on 9th July, was a year of small crops, more racking than usual and supple, concentrated wines, which were eventually picked by the 13th October.
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