Crozes-Hermitage AOC Flashcards
Crozes-Hermitage AOC
Location & size
Location in terms of the hill of Hermitage
The largest of the northern appellations, Crozes-Hermitage covers nearly 1,700 ha on the left bank of the Rhône. It surrounds the town of Tain L’Hermitage and the hill of Hermitage itself
Crozes-Hermitage
North sector of AOC:
The north sector of the AOC has a continental climate, with marked Alpine influences; it can be extremely cold in winter, with a strong influence from the Mistral.
It has a long growing season, high diurnal range,
resulting in wines of moderate sugar accumulation and retained acidity.
relatively steep slopes to the north of Tain
Crozes- Hermitage AOC
south sector of AOC
The southern sector is more temperate, although there can be heavy rainfall in the late autumn and through the winter.
Generally it is flatter here with Machine harvesting
Crozes-Hermitage AOC
Soils and its effect
Max yield
In general, the soils are deeper and more fertile than in neighbouring Hermitage and the resulting wines have lower concentration,
The maximum yield is restricted to 45 hL/ha.
Crozes Hermitage AOC
Red winemaking:
Destemming and Fermentation/Maturation vessels
Destemming is widely practiced, with fermentation mainly in concrete tanks or stainless steel and maturation in these tanks or large oak vessels.
Crozes-hermitage AOC
Red wine:
General style
Generally, wines are made for early drinking with medium tannins.
Crozes-Hermitage AOC
White winemaking
The whites make up 9 per cent of the production. They are made from Marsanne and Roussanne, with more of the
former planted.
Top examples of white wines will be aged in old wood, and occasionally a proportion of new barrels.
Crozes-Hermitage
Both red/white quality/price
The wines are mainly good to very good in quality and mid-priced to premium, with some outstanding wines.
