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The Les Pends lieu-dit is one of the very finest for white in Crozes-Hermitage. Maxime Graillot had been waiting and waiting to get a parcel and finally succeeded in 2014. It’s a sloping, south-facing hillside on white clay and chalk described by Rhône authority John Livingstone-Learmonth as a “high, high-quality terroir”. The site’s appeal lies in its ability to ripen its fruit while retaining a mouth-watering structure courtesy of the limestone-rich soils. Simply, Les Pends is one of the most coveted terroirs in the region for white grapes, and Maxime’s wine—full of alluring floral fruit and stony intensity—explains why.
Graillot owns just 0.4 hectares of 40-year-old vines densely planted to 75% Marsanne and 25% Roussanne. The grapes are whole bunch-pressed, spontaneously fermented and raised in 600-litre demi-muid and a 300-litre cigar. Unlike the Domaine Alain Graillot white—grown on the deep alluvial soils of Pont-de-l’Isère—Graillot does not block the malolactic conversion; the limestone soils provide enough freshness and tension. The 2021 is a seriously classy white Crozes—fleshy yet racy, floral and honeyed and with a long juicy close. A fabulous white Rhône.