Winemaker Notes:
All the grapes are hand-harvested, from severely-pruned, low-yielding vines. The red Crozes-Hermitage grapes are not destemmed, i.e. 100% whole-cluster. They are loaded into lined concrete vats, and temperatures are brought down to 18°C for a 2 to 5 day pre-fermentation maceration. Once vinifications (indigenous yeast) get going, temperatures rise to 30°C, and cuvaison lasts 15 to 21 days. Aged for one year - 80% of them in one to 3 year old oak barrels, the remaining 20% in vat. They are given a light filtration but no fining before bottling.
The Vineyard:
After spending time in Paris, Alain Graillot returned home to his native Rhone Valley to pursue winemaking. He traveled to Burgundy and had the good fortune to study with Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac. Back in the Rhone, he founded his domaine in Crozes-Hermitage in 1985 and quickly became a star winemaker of the region, admired for his impeccably made Syrahs. The domaine covers 52 hectares of organically farmed vineyards, mainly in Crozes-Hermitage with a small parcel in Saint Joseph. The grapes are harvested by hand and whole cluster fermented. He never uses new oak in any of his wines, preferring to age them in a combination of 1-4 year old barrels. Since the 2008 vintage, Alain's son, Maxime, has taken over the day-to-day operation of the domaine and continued in his father's footsteps of crafting fine, age-worthy, very small production wines. Alain Graillot Syrahs are some of the finest and long-lasting in the Rhone Valley. They are also very limited, so it's best to grab any bottles you can while they last!
