Marc Sorrel Hermitage Rouge Le Greal 2021 (1.5L) *

Hermitage sits at the northern end of the Rhône, where Syrah takes on a darker, more mineral cast than it does anywhere else, and this red from Marc Sorrel is one of the appellation's more serious expressions of that grape. The Le Gréal bottling draws on vines grown partly on Le Méal and partly on Les Greffieux, with about 10% of the fruit fermented as whole bunches. The 2021 is a leaner, more open vintage here, less about sheer size than about tension, purity, and line.

Expect ripe raspberry and cranberry alongside orange blossom, violets, cedar, and traces of licorice, all held in a medium to full frame with real concentration and focus. There is a graphite, pencil-lead minerality running underneath, and the tannins are ripe but strict, giving the wine its grip and its energy. It drinks with more generosity than usual for a young Gréal, yet the structure is built to carry it a long way, and with age it should turn increasingly fine-boned and elegant.