M Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage Sicamor 2018

A vibrant and intense style of Crozes-Hermitage, with characteristic blackberry and smoky bacon hints and notes of blackcurrant and iodine. Marked acidity lends freshness and acts as a counterpoint to the well-integrated oak. Compact and thirst-quenching. The Northern Rhône is the birthplace of Syrah, a natural crossing of Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche. From here it has spread far and wide. Sicamor is a new cuvée by Chapoutier, from a blend of different terroirs. One is coarse-grained granite from the western side of the hill of Hermitage, another is stony soils on the eastern side, and the last is a parcel from Les Chassis on the flat terraces of Crozes-Hermitage. The grapes for this cuvée are all destemmed and it is then fermented in concrete and aged for 12 months in recently used 600L barrels, with no filtration and no fining before bottling.