2015 Emmanuel Darnaud, Crozes-Hermitage “Les Trois Chenes” Rhone Red, France.
Made from his oldest plots of organic vines, the Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes-Heritage Les Trois Chenes is a pure and beautiful Syrah with lovely layers and a wonderful mix of dark fruits and earthy elements with a nice background of spices. This wine is an awesome value, grown on alluvial soils and round stones with a vine age between 25 to 60 years it shows great terroir character and markers, the 2015 is ripe and lengthy highlighting the warm vintage. This 100% Syrah shows brilliant details and while it has a slight reduction at first it opens wonderfully to an array of complex flavors, it starts with it’s very dark purple/garnet hue and delicate floral notes with hints of violets and camphor, truffle and leather before filling out on the palate with blackberry, blueberry, damson plum and kirsch/cherry fruits along with black licorice, sticky lavender, peppercorns and dusty porcini. Aged in neutral cask (demi muids) this harmonious 13.5% alcohol wine gathers energy, focus and weight with air in the glass, but stays vibrant and medium bodied with a lithe mouth feel. I am excited to try more of Darnaud’s wines, especially his Saint-Joseph, which I hear is outstanding as well, imported by Casa Bruno in Portland, Oregon Emmanuel Darnaud looks set to be a break through winemaker/producer, another big thank you goes out to Vinopolis Wine Shop, also in Portland, for turning me on to this fine example, it’s hard to imagine a better Northern Rhone Syrah for the price. This is a wine to enjoy in the next 3 to 5 years and a label to follow, this is a quality and impressive effort that deserves your attention, it’s also a Syrah that needs cuisine to perform at it’s best, while still being vibrant, flexible and supple in tannins.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive
