Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Crozes-Hermitage, Sens 2024
Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Crozes-Hermitage, Sens 2024 is a dry, medium-bodied red from Syrah, in the juicy, fruity reds style. Tannins are moderate and acidity moderate; oak influence is some. Good with barbecue, lamb, beef stew, pizza. Cheapest offer £29.90 at Honest Grapes.
| Wine | Sweet | Body | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleurie 'Les Labourons', Jane Eyre 2021 Jane Eyre | £28.90 | |||
| Crozes Hermitage Les Jalets Jaboulet 2009 | £28.00 | |||
| Saint-Joseph, Les Traverses, Catherine & Pascal Jamet 2024 (organic) 2024 Pascal Jamet · Rhône | £28.00 | |||
| Louis Cheze Caroline Saint-Joseph 2022 Louis Cheze · France | £31.96 |
Laurent Fayolle is one of the most exciting addresses in Crozes-Hermitage right now, and 'Sens' is their entry-point cuvée in the best possible sense. It's not a second wine, but a deliberate expression of young Syrah from the flatter, more granitic soils that surround the granite hill of Hermitage itself. It's a wine that leads with energy rather than weight: dark cherry and violet up front, then that signature northern Rhône pepper and a cool, almost iron-edged mineral quality running underneath. The 2024 vintage in the northern Rhône was marked by freshness and lifted aromatics, and 'Sens' wears that vintage character well. It's not trying to be Hermitage — it's more nimble than that, with a juicy, savoury pull that makes it genuinely good at the table.