Wine Advisor
Marc Sorrel, Hermitage Le Greal 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Marc Sorrel says, “I think it’s the best vintage I’ve made,” of the whole-cluster-fermented 2015 Hermitage Le Greal, and who am I to argue with that? It’s a profoundly deep and intense wine, rich in mouth-drying tannins, yet packed with cassis fruit and notes of licorice, mocha and black olives. Give this full-bodied wine another 7 years in the cellar, and drink it over the next two decades.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Lurid violet. Heady, expansive aromas of black raspberry, cassis, green olive, incense and violet carry an exotic spice overtone. Densely packed and focused on the palate, displaying superb clarity to the sappy dark fruit preserve, floral pastille and spicecake flavors. Distinctly powerful, yet there's surprisingly liveliness here as well. Finishes extremely long and sweet, featuring intense mineral thrust, a spicy cracked pepper note and mounting tannins.
About the Producer
Marc Sorrel is a leading estate in the Hermitage appellation of the northern Rhône, producing traditionally styled, long-lived red wines from Syrah as well as white wines from Marsanne and Roussanne. The estate was founded in 1928 by Félix Sorrel and from 1984 to 2018, was run by his grandson Marc. Today, Marc's son Guillaume is at the helm of the domaine. The estate is best known for its Hermitage wines, sourced from several plots on the famous hillside. Typically, the vines are planted on granite-based soils, and enjoy the region's sunny, south-oriented mesoclimate. Some of the vines are more than 60 years old, and produce tiny yields of intensely concentrated berries. There are four Hermitage wines in Marc Sorrel's current portfolio – two red and two white and are varietal expressions of Syrah and Marsanne respectively. The top red wine, Le Gréal, is produced in tiny amounts from the best old vine parcels of Syrah within the estate with a small portion of Marsanne. The white wine, Les Rocoules, is predominantly Marsanne with a little Roussanne. Marc Sorrel also makes a red and a white Crozes-Hermitage wine. In the winery, the grapes are often whole-bunch fermented. The white varieties are fermented in large used oak barrels to impart a soft oak influence. All wines are aged in old oak barrels in the cellar for a period prior to bottling.
