Domaine Alain Graillot

Overview

Domaine Alain Graillot is the flagship domaine of Crozes-Hermitage and a true hero of the appellation. Alain Graillot, who had not made a drop of wine or lived on the land until the mid-1980s (he worked in industry before), made his first wine in 1985 and built the domaine into an internationally recognized standard-bearer for Crozes. He died suddenly in early 2022 after a stroke while skiing, leaving the domaine in the more than capable hands of his sons Maxime and Antoine. There are organic practices without fanfare.

Appellations

• Crozes-Hermitage
• Hermitage
• Saint-Joseph

Key Wines

• Crozes-Hermitage red — lovely fruit when drunk in first two years
• Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude red — selection of best casks each year; worth cellaring 4-5 years; can live 20 years in best vintages (2005, 2015)
• Crozes-Hermitage Larnage red — introduced 2018, from 1 hectare at Larnage; red fruits and fine tannins, counterpoint to the racy black fruits of Les Chassis
• Crozes-Hermitage white — 80% Marsanne; showed recent progress, with 2019-2021 all four-star wines
• Hermitage red — from youngish vines, altered in 2017-18 through grafting of old massale Syrah from Clape at Cornas
• Saint-Joseph red — small amounts, frisky

Style Notes

Enterprising wines that hold the flag high for Crozes-Hermitage across international markets. The classic Crozes is approachable and fruit-forward in youth. La Guiraude rewards patience and is the serious, cellar-worthy wine. The white Crozes had thickened in the late 2010s but regained freedom and drinking pleasure from 2019.

Producer Profile (JLL / drinkRhone.com)

There are organic practices here, without the blah-blah. The first wine was made in 1985: Alain had worked in industry before. Lovely fruit on the classic when drunk in its first two years. The La Guiraude Crozes red, a selection of the best casks each year, is worth cellaring for four to five years.

In 2018, the domaine introduced a bottling from their 1 hectare at Larnage, a site that gives red fruits and fine tannins, a counterpoint to the racy southern instincts and black fruits of the Les Chassis Crozes red.

There are small amounts of frisky red Saint-Joseph and a youngish vine Hermitage, which was altered in 2017-18 through grafting on its clone Syrah of old massale Syrah taken from the Clape domaine at Cornas.

A true hero of the Rhone and particularly Crozes-Hermitage, Alain died suddenly in early 2022 after a stroke when skiing. The domaine is now led by sons Maxime and Antoine.

Location: 105 chemin des Chenes Verts, Les Chenes Verts, 26600 Pont-de-l’Isere. Export markets: 1) GB, 2) USA, 3) Japan. 50% exported.

Key Wines & Vintage Notes (JLL / drinkRhone.com)

Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude red

100% Syrah, selection of best casks. 33-100% whole bunch, 6-day fermentation, 10% new oak, 12 months. 3,000-20,000 bottles. Not produced in 2014, 2008, 2002, 2000, 1997.

• 2021 — “Gourmand, juicy wave that unfurls with admirable consistency into a savoury, lip smacking finale. Elegant, tasty, slinky.” Drink 2039-41.
• 2020 — “Wide, dark, intense. Akin to a Hermitage from the eastern end. Carries mystery and potential.” Decant, wait until 2026. Drink 2041-43.
• 2019 — “A top Crozes 2019. Burgundian style elegance with a Rhone filling.” Pedigree content, tannins fit with silk. From 2026. Drink 2044-46.
• 2018 — “A long-term wine, best left until 2026 or so. The balance is good. Will evolve very well over 25 years.” Drink 2040-43.
• 2017 — “Serious, structured Crozes. Finish long, juice thorough, sustained.” Maxime: “In 2016 and 2017 the terroir prevailed over the weather. 2016 is the mother, 2017 the father.” Drink 2041-43.
• 2015 — ***() — “Properly complete, goes wide and long. Pockets of iron. Richness carries it towards Hermitage from the middle to eastern zones.” Long-term wine. Drink 2037-39.
• 2013 — “A Thinker’s Wine, a Rodin, high on interest.” Iron-mineral, damp vegetation, menthol. Drink 2034-36.
• 2005 — ***() — “Very good Syrah that can show New World winemakers what French Syrah is all about.” 14,000 bottles (unusually high selection). Drink 2026-28.

Crozes-Hermitage red (classic)

100% Syrah from Les Chassis, galet stone soils. Whole bunch, 6-day fermentation + 2-week maceration. 80,000-92,000 bottles. “Lovely fruit when drunk in first two years.”

• 2021 — “Alert, vivacious bouquet. The palate rocks.” Cool thread, freedom, lift. Drink 2033-35.
• 2019 — “Good run of freshly struck red fruit. Structure. Solid version.” Drink 2040-42.
• 2016 — “A leading 2016 Crozes red. Serious wine of depth and structure, mineral touches.” Drink 2034-36.
• 2013 — “A winning Crozes, bundles of energy. Really reaches out along the palate. High quality all round.” VALUE at 9.50 euros export. Drink 2024-26.

Crozes-Hermitage red from Larnage

Syrah (2003) from 1 ha at Larnage. Lower pH (3.5 vs 3.9-4.0 at Les Chassis). New 20 hl barrel, 15+ months. 2,700 bottles. First wine 2018.

• 2022 — “A Thinker’s wine, to be studied for its intricate detail.” Leafy, cut grass, precise raspberry. Drink 2042-44.
• 2021 — “Polished Crozes, inner elegance, fluid, a little Burgundian.” Drink 2037-39.
• 2018 — “Artistic Crozes red, with discreet mineral. Good potential. Red fruits and fine tannins — counterpoint to Les Chassis.” Drink 2038-40.

Crozes-Hermitage white

80% Marsanne (1980), 20% Roussanne (1980). 50% steel, 50% 600-litre oak. 15,000 bottles.

• 2021 — “Fluid, creamy tone with dried apricot. W.o.w. wine.” Drink to 2027.
• 2020 — “Fresh, airborne style, coasts along, a lot of silk.” Below 13 degrees. Drink 2030-31.
• 2019 — **** — “Peachy, flirts with exotic fruits. Lively, nicely full, aromatic blanc.” Drink 2027-28.

Hermitage red

Syrah from Les Greffieux. From 2018, old massale Syrah from Clape grafted over clone. Only 400-600 bottles.

• 2022 — “Harmony, tinkle of harmony with ripe tannins. Terroir has prevailed over weather.” Drink 2044-46.
• 2020 — “Comfortable filling. True Hermitage from the more middle zones, finesse present.” Drink 2046-48.
• 2018 — “Stylish Hermitage. Not full blooded, but very assured, good frame.” Drink 2042-44.

Saint-Joseph red

100% Syrah from St-Jean-de-Muzols and Saint-Desirat. Mostly whole bunch. “A wine to drink at the counter of the bar.” 7,500-11,000 bottles.

• 2022 — “Bonny flow red fruits. A wine of harmony, frank, clear.” Drink 2040-42.
• 2019 — “Genuine, true St Jo. Compact depth, mineral glint throughout.” Drink 2039-41.
• 2018 — **** — “Structured, very steely St Jo. Iron strength. Bottled Dec 2019.” Drink 2037-39.

Vintage Assessments (JLL Vintage Reports)

2024 Crozes-Hermitage: Maxime Graillot: “2024 was very stressful, a lot of treatments required, but we managed to treat correctly, losing very little, just 10% on the Syrah. It has the phenolic ripeness of the 2023 vintage, allied to the power that comes from a yield of around 37 hl/ha, lower than usual… 2024 is a serious vintage.” On the whites: “2024 will be a great year for the white. I like it a lot. The harvest was full, the yield of 45 hl/ha bringing more fluid and expressive wines than the more concentrated 2023 and 2022, when yields were around half.”

2019 Crozes-Hermitage: La Guiraude: “a top Crozes 2019, Burgundian style elegance with a Rhône filling.” Classic red: “good run of freshly struck red fruit, structure, solid version.” White: four stars (“peachy, flirts with exotic fruits”). Saint-Joseph: “genuine, true.” Crozes was complicated by a gigantic June hailstorm, but Graillot navigated it well. See 2019 Rhone Vintage.

2018 Crozes-Hermitage: A testing year at Crozes — wines from the alluvial plain bore ripeness more extreme than any JLL recalls since 1973, including 2003. Some 15-degree wines from Crozes. La Guiraude: “a long-term wine, best left until 2026; balance is good, will evolve very well over 25 years.” The new Larnage bottling debuted: “artistic Crozes red, red fruits and fine tannins — counterpoint to Les Chassis.” Hermitage: “stylish, not full blooded, but very assured.” Saint-Joseph: four stars (“structured, very steely, iron strength”). See 2018 Rhone Vintage.

2017 Crozes-Hermitage: La Guiraude: “serious, structured Crozes. Finish long, juice thorough, sustained.” Maxime: “In 2016 and 2017 the terroir prevailed over the weather. 2016 is the mother, 2017 the father.” A year of packed density and low acidity. See 2017 Rhone Vintage.

2016 Crozes-Hermitage: Classic red: “a leading 2016 Crozes red. Serious wine of depth and structure, mineral touches.” A year of harmony with charming, open fruit and Burgundian amplification. See 2016 Rhone Vintage.

2015 Crozes-Hermitage: La Guiraude four-to-five stars (“properly complete, goes wide and long. Pockets of iron. Richness carries it towards Hermitage”). A long-term wine. The 2015 reds were full-bodied and complete from an unusually early stage. See 2015 Rhone Vintage.

2008 Crozes-Hermitage: Alain Graillot: “It is not a year to make keeping wines, one might say. I dropped grapes in July 2008, which I don’t usually do — as a result I had a lot less sorting to do at harvest time. I started to pick the Syrah on 2 October — I have never started in October before.” Son Max (Le Dauphin): “It is a small 2004 for me.” Rated ★★(★) (drink 2014). A difficult year on the southern plain of Les Chassis. See 2008 Rhone Vintage.

My Tastings

Sources

• sources/articles/JLL/Alain_Graillot.txt
• sources/articles/JLL/rhone_wines_data.json — JLL / drinkRhone.com wine-by-wine vintage notes
• sources/articles/JLL/rhone_vintage_reports.json — JLL vintage reports 2008-2024