• Practicing organic
• 100% Syrah
• From two parcels, one in the village of Tournon, one in the village of St Désirat
• 45+ year old vines
• 100% Whole Cluster
• Ambient yeast
• Fermented in cement
• Aged in 1-3 year old barrels
• Unfined and unfiltered 

“If I could repeat 2023 for the rest of my life, I’d be very happy—both in terms of quantity and quality,” remarked Maxime Graillot during my visit to this family estate, which Graillot manages alongside his brother, Antoine. The 2023 reds are indeed a success: layered and vibrantly fresh, with ripe phenolics and ample spicy depth. The 2023 Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude and Hermitage are particular standouts and clearly surpass the overly rustic 2022s I tasted last year. Comparing volumes between 2023 and 2024, Graillot explained: “For the 2024 whites, we produced 45 hl/ha, but we lost roughly half the grapes to disease over the growing season. At flowering, we theoretically had between 90 and 100 hl/ha. So, 2024 produced a large batch of grapes, but many were lost, whereas in 2023, the season was far less disease-affected, meaning virtually everything that grew made it into the wine. In 2024, only about half did, even though there was far more fruit at the start.” The tasting concluded with the 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Larnage, sourced from vines on the eastern side of the Hermitage hill but within the Crozes appellation. The Graillots intend to release this cuvée fairly late, with the inaugural 2018 due on the market in 2027 or 2028. I will reassess the 2023 upon release, but based on this early preview, it appears to be a promising new offering from the Graillot brothers.