Crozes-Hermitage 2020: report and top-scoring wines

Graphite, plum and blackberry. Beautifully silky, has a good sense of fluidity but also remarkable intensity and concentration. Energy and drive, with deep fruit and...

Very meaty style, there's some crusty bits of the roasting pan in this. Juicy, full-bodied without over extraction, this is lively, expressive, defined and textural....

A lovely compellingly nose, with liquorice, cedar, sandalwood and Provençal herbs. Plenty of fruit, seamlessly smooth on the palate, this is really intense, driving, focused...

There's a pleasant little blackcurrant jam note on the nose here. Lightly spiced, medium-bodied, juicy and with very fine tannins, there's a lovely sense of...

Lovely lavender and dried herbs on the nose and palate. Shot through with saturated fine tannin and juicy blackberry acidity. Plenty of detail, personality, power,...

Smoky reductive note on the nose. Fairly full-bodied for a Crozes, but by no means thick or heavy, just concentrated fresh black fruits and plentiful...

There's a touch of flinty reduction on the nose which adds lift and spice to the fruit. A straight profile that's neat and tucked in,...

Unabashed use of oak, but it melds well with the fruit and presents a harmonious aromatic display. Full-bodied but not heavy, this is a relatively...

Darkly coloured. Some blackberry jam notes and roast beef on the nose, but it’s satisfyingly dry on the palate, with plentiful fine, ripe tannin -...

Neat, not a large-scale wine, this has precision, definition, ripe tannins, a fine texture and built-in power on the finish. A natural groundswell of tannin...

The dried Provençal herbs come before the fruit, this has a great sense of freshness and drinkability. Good acidity, fresh, detailed and textural, it displays...

A fruity but upright style, with lovely freshness on the nose then roundness on the palate, showing good tannic structure and juicy tannins. From 60-year-old...

Juicy blackberry fruit, a touch of black cherry, some cinnamon edging. Ripe, round and quite potent for an inexpensive northern Rhône Syrah. The alcohol might...

Violet-scented, light-bodied style that's not hugely concentrated but is very well balanced. Wet-clay tannins on the finish, which has some length to it. Not complex,...

Dense, concentrated style of Crozes-Hermitage. Not heavy, but quite extracted. Well-balanced acidity and quite assertive use of oak, but it all comes together well, or...

Gorgeously fresh and complex nose, showing potpourri and rose notes alongside the blackberry fruit. Rounded, medium-bodied, unadorned style of Crozes, exceptionally well-balanced and pure. A...