Ferraton Crozes Hermitage Le Grand Courtil 2017

Aged entirely in barrel (15% new), the 2017 Crozes Hermitage Le Grand Courtil shows a hefty dose of smoke, baking spices and pencil shavings at the moment, although there's a solid core of cassis and blueberry fruit. It's full-bodied and concentrated, so give it a year or two to better integrate the oak and soften the dusty tannins on the finish, then drink it over the following decade.

The 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Le Grand Courtil was destemmed and brought up in used demi-muids. A brilliant bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, toasted spice, new leather, and white flowers gives way to a medium to full-bodied Crozes that has a stunning sense of minerality, a supple, seamless, opulent texture, plenty of structure, and a great finish. The quality continues to soar at Ferraton, and this is up with the top four to five wines from Crozes in 2017.