Placeholder Image
SommSelect

Gilles Robin, Crozes-Hermitage “Papillon”

Northern Rhône, France 2018 (750mL)
$29.00
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Gilles Robin, Crozes-Hermitage “Papillon”

If I were writing a wine list and wanted to show off my northern Rhône Syrah chops, today’s iconic bottle from Gilles Robin would have to be on it: it’s an eye-popping value, an unoaked conduit of real soil character, and as true to the varietal character of Syrah as it gets.
“Papillon” has become a perennial SommSelect favorite because it is a quintessential SommSelect wine—namely, a value proposition very few others in its category can match. When it comes to Crozes-Hermitage, I have a shortlist of producers I count on to deliver, and Robin is right up there with the likes of Alain Graillot, Domaine Combier, and Emmanuel Darnaud. Today’s 2018, sourced from organically farmed vines planted in 1996, is a knockout, but not in the powerhouse, tour de force sense of that word: It’s a knockout because of its nuance, energy, and uncanny varietal purity. Put your nose in the glass and there’s nothing else it could possibly be: It says “Syrah” loud and clear, without having to raise its voice.
The Robin estate is headquartered in the town of Mercurol, which is about 5 kilometers south of Tain and its famed Hermitage hill. Whereas the soils north of Tain contain more primary rock, especially granite, those to the south, including the 'Terrace de Chassis' district where Robin is located, are a mix of sand, pebbles, and iron-rich red clay. There tends to be a broader, slightly softer-edged feel to the Syrahs grown in this zone, with many of them approaching Hermitage levels of concentration. That’s not the ambition of this wine, which delivers its dark fruit and meaty, black pepper flavors in a bright, aromatic, medium-bodied format.

Robin has achieved organic certification (Ecocert) for his 37 acres of vineyards, some of which date to the 1940s, when his grandfather, Albéric Bouvet, ran the show (Gilles bottles an old-vine cuvée named for him). The “Papillon” bottling was originally created to commemorate the birth of Gilles’ first daughter, Léonie, in 2001, the same year some younger Syrah vines on the estate first came into production. He uses 100% de-stemmed fruit for this wine and ages it for about eight months in stainless steel tanks, preserving what he calls Syrah’s “feminine and spicy side.”

In the glass, today’s 2018 is a deep, nearly opaque dark purple at its core, moving to magenta/pink at the rim. The aromas are driven by wild black fruits of blackberry, currants, cherry, and plum with secondary notes of wildflowers, fresh lavender, wet soil, olive and a touch of black pepper. It’s a wine to consume over the next few years. Ideally, decant for 30-45 minutes then serve at roughly cellar temperature (55-60 degrees) in large Bordeaux stems, which will allow it to open beautifully. As for a pairing, the first thing I think of is some medium-rare lamb with a good char from the grill—chops, leg, burgers, whatever works for you. This wine offers incredible versatility as well as value, so grab at least a handful of bottles for enjoying throughout the Spring and Summer. Cheers!
Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Northern Rhône
Sub-Region
FranceCrozes-Hermitage
Soil
Gravel, Clay & Sand
Farming
Organic
Blend
Syrah
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
None
TEMP.
55-60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2024
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Grilled Marinated Leg of Lamb

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

Others We Love