Crozes-Hermitage () is a

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of 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. French wine traces its history to th ...

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

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 a ...

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 to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

that differs from its southern neighbour, which has a more

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. 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 (; 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 located in Ardèche. Th ...

, extends around the village of Gervans with its south- and south-western granite slopes and then spreads south around Larnage where the land flattens and consists of more clay. Approaching Tain and the village of Mercurol the land rises again and the appellation spreads east. In this region, the soil is mostly rocks, sand and clay. Just south of Tain '' galets roulés'', small surface stones also found extensively in

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avignon. A ruined medieval castle s ...

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 Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

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 undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

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, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

and intended for early drinking, while others will

keep A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...

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