2017 Crozes-Hermitage La Chasselière

Sebastien Michelas is the winemaker at his family’s 50-plus-hectare domaine, which has vineyards in all of the major red wine appellations of the southern part of the northern Rhône (Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Cornas). Michelas told me that “2016 is an outstanding vintage for traditionalists who want distinct vineyard expression” in their wines. In the past it would have also “been considered a fairly ripe year, but the standard has changed so much, so fast, that it really isn’t one compared to so many others.” Quality here is steadily rising while, fortunately for wine lovers, pricing hasn’t yet followed suit. The style leans in the direction of early drinking and these 2016s should provide a lot of immediate gratification for the impatient among us.