Moving to the Crozes Hermitage releases, the 2011 Crozes Hermitage is an outstanding effort that offers lots of smoked beef, bacon and bouquet garni, with black cherry and blackberry-styled fruit. Medium-bodied, supple, and balanced, with beautiful purity of fruit, it is already delicious and approachable, yet should drink nicely through 2019. This was a rock star lineup by owner/winemaker Florent Viale. Covering roughly 13 hectares in Crozes Hermitage (mostly around the villages of Mercurol and Tain) and just under two hectares in Hermitage, the wines from this domaine see a traditional vinification followed by aging mostly in older demi-muids, with new oak kept to around 20% for most of the cuvees. The wines are classic, textbook examples of their appellations and should not be missed. The fact that they can represent good value is just icing on the cake. Importer: The Source, San Francisco, CA; Tel. (415) 621-6151 and Milton Road Trading, www.MiltonRoadTracking.com