Domaine Laurent Habrard Crozes Hermitage 2016

Vibrant purple in the glass. Great concentration, Swirls like oil. Very aromatic nose to start, with blackberries mint and pepper wafting up. The palate is immediately generous with deeper flavors of smoky bacon, red fruits, purple flowers closing out its lengthy finish with Velvety, finely integrated tannins. Some strawberry and licorice but not in a showy way. Lovely fruit. Very easy to drink because of its suppleness, yet a pleasingly long aftertaste. Amazingly complex for such a young wine.

Laurent Habrard Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2016
REGION Crozes-Hermitage A.O.C.
GRAPES 100% Syrah
VITICULTURE Certified Biodynamic
VINICULTURE
Vinified using natural yeasts. 15-25 day
fermentation in concrete with temperature
control. Daily punchdowns by foot. 1 year
aging in 2 to 4 year old neutral barrels. 3g
of SO2 added when transferred to barrel, 2g
during élevage and 3g at bottling.
SOIL Rocky granite, mixed with some loess.

Domaine Habrard is located in the village of Gervans on the eastern side of the Rhône River, north of the commune of Tain-l’Hermitage, where Laurent Habrard is the fifth generation winemaker. Laurent took over the 14-hectare family domain from his mother, Marie-Therese and father, Marcel, and has been making wine since 1998. The majority of estate production is red and white Crozes-Hermitage, and a small parcel in St. Joseph rouge.

In 1998, he finished his studies in Beaune and modernized the winery. After 10 years, In 2008 he began the conversion to organic farming and quickly transitioned to wind and solar energy production. Within another year, Laurent also set up a rainwater recovery system. Laurent says of his approach, "I’m not a carpenter, I’m a wine producer. My work is not to produce and
sell wines resembling oaky tea," – Harbrard replaces wood vats with concrete tanks when they are no longer useful.