Delas : Le Clos 2019

The 2019 Crozes Hermitage le Clos managed to escape hail damage but remains an intense, concentrated effort. Hints of violets and garrigue appear on the nose alongside cassis and black cherries, while the full-bodied palate is supple, leading into a long, licorice-tinged finish. Drink it over the next decade or so. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.

Sleek and refined, with smoldering bay and cast-iron hints along the edges of a core of dark cherry and plum preserve notes. Juicy yet restrained, iron-tinged finish. Drink now through 2030. 500 cases made, 83 cases imported.

100% Syrah. Aged for 10–14 months in old oak. Cask sample. Tasted blind. Very smoky, backward, reductive nose. Very rich and ripe fruits, a charred-meat note and a broad, expansive palate – not the freshest. (AC)

On the nose, you find the peppery, mineral signature of the clos, already present in 2020. The palate is a touch broader and balanced, even if the dark fruit comes across as slightly cooked.