Crozes-Hermitage is a

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Ameri ...

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

'' (AOC) in the northern Rhône wine region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The appellation is the largest in the northern Rhone, and its wines are less highly regarded than those from the nearby appellations of Côte-Rôtie or its near-namesake Hermitage. Most of the wines produced here are red wines made from the

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

grape, sometimes blended with small quantities of white

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

grapes. Some white wines are also made, based on Marsanne and/or Roussanne.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' JP Bøger - JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. , p. 93-96

History

In 1846, a panel of tasters commended the wine for its likeness to Hermitage wines. The appellation was officially defined in 1937 and was expanded in 1952.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' JP Bøger - JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. , p. 93

Climate and geography

Cave de Tain Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2008

Crozes-Hermitage, along with the rest of northern Rhône has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

that differs from its southern neighbour, which has a more

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. Winters are wet and marked by the cold '' mistral'' winds that can last into the Spring. The appellation is fairly large by Northern Rhône standards, with its 1,238 hectares accounting for approximately half of the entire region's 2,400 hectares. The appellation's boundary begins around 10 km north of

Tain-l'Hermitage Tain-l'Hermitage (; oc, Tinh de l'Ermitatge or ), commonly known as Tain, is a commune in the French department of Drôme, southeastern France. Geography It is located on the left bank of the river Rhône, opposite Tournon-sur-Rhône, which is ...

, extends around the village of

Gervans Gervans () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma' ...

with its south- and south-western granite slopes and then spreads south around

Larnage Larnage () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma ...

where the land flattens and consists of more clay. Approaching Tain and the village of

Mercurol Mercurol () is a former commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It was located in the district of Valencia. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Mercurol-Veaunes.galets roulés Galets roulés are components of the terrain, or terroir, and a distinguishing feature of many of the vineyards in the Côtes du Rhône AOC and more specifically Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC and other top wine producing areas in the regions such as Gig ...

'', small surface stones also found extensively in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône, appear. The southernmost part of the appellation is flat and newly planted.

Grapes and wine

As with the northern Rhône in general, Crozes-Hermitage produces primarily red wines, with

the only red grape permitted under appellation rules. The rules allow the addition of up to 15% of the white grapes

and

. Those two varieties are also used in the

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

s in the appellation. The more notable vineyards in Crozes-Hermitage include Les Chassis, Les Sept Chemins and Les Meysonniers. Many of the red wines are relatively

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

and intended for early drinking, while others will

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

and improve in bottle for several years.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' JP Bøger - JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. , p. 94

Winemaking

Crozes-Hermitage is notable for the large amount of cooperative wine. Cave de Tain, a large cooperative, takes half of the grapes grown. Another large producer, Jaboulet, takes a lot of the other half, and also owns its own vineyards.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' JP Bøger - JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. , p. 93-94 Although a small amount of white grapes can be included when making red wines in this AOC, more and more varietal 100% Syrah wines are being made.

References

{{reflist
Cotes du Rhone Wines Web Site
Rhône wine AOCs 1930s establishments in France