Domaine du Murinais Vieilles Vignes AOC Crozes Hermitage, 2018

Moving northwards up the Rhône Valley into Syrah territory, 2018 was another hugely successful vintage for Luc Tardy. His 2018 Vieilles Vignes is an intense purple colour. Aromas of ripe black cherry compote, cooked fruits, a touch of marmite, sweet vanilla notes with coffee, chocolate and toast are all present and apparent. It is rich and concentrated on the palate with more blackberry fruit, black olive and treacle leading to a saline finish. This is a big and bold wine with lots of oak. It is full bodied with a vibrant acidity and should mature very nicely. Syrah grapes were harvested on September 17th, 2018, destemmed and fermented in concrete tanks using natural yeast for 21 days. The wine was transferred to old 600-litre barrels for the malolactic fermentation and matured a further 14 months in these. Tasted as a barrel sample, the wine will be bottled in December. Together with his wife Catherine, Luc cultivates 17 hectares of vines. All working of the soil is manual including ploughing, hoeing, covering the base of vines in winter with soil and uncovering in spring.