2016 Domaine Belle Crozes-Hermitage Les Pierrelles 750 ml

A Rising “Seductively Delicious” Star in Crozes-Hermitage

The Northern stretches of the Rhône Valley are known for crafting the region’s most expensive, wines—bottles that dazzle with earthy complexity, multidimensional fruit flavors, and powerful tannins—but this 2016 Domaine Belle Crozes-Hermitage “Les Pierrelles” delivers all of this and more at a price that easily demolishes the competition. Even Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate declared it, “goes down far too easy.”

“Philippe Belle and his son, Guillaume, continue to turn out some of Northern Rhône's best-kept secrets from their small estate in the hills behind Hermitage,” says Parker’s Advocate, which has also rated Domaine Belle higher than any other Crozes-Hermitage producer in history.

The 2016 vintage year defined muscular, Rhône elegance, and Domaine Belle’s “Les Pierrelles” is our pick of the vintage—full-bodied, showing rich dark fruit and smoky spice, it’s “seductively delicious” to quote Decanter, which pinned on 91 points.  

Although Northern Rhône natives have known Domaine Belle as an elite Crozes-Hermitage producer for decades, the estate is rising to prominence among American drinkers, and critics have taken note. Robert Parker’s longtime Rhône expert, Jeb Dunnuck, declared, “I always love the wines from this tiny estate.”

With the estate dating back to the 1600s, and three generations of Belle’s tending its vines, the Domaine’s bottlings derive their signature weighty power, silky tannin, and ethereal garrigue and leather aromas from the soil, which boasts white clay festooned with galets (small stones) and granite—unusual to the region. Proprietors Philippe and Albert Belle have also distinguished themselves through their judicious use of oak, with Dunnuck calling the balance of fruit and wood in 2015 and 2016 “close to perfect.”

This Les Pierrelles promises to recruit a new generation of fans. This wine hails from gnarled 80-year-old vines in the southwest corner of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation, where sand, clay, and stone soils help Syrah grapes achieve full, scintillating ripeness. “Galets” like those found in Southern Rhône appellations around Châteauneuf-du-Pape keep the soil warm, infusing grapes with opulent notes of blackcurrant and blackberry.

Philippe and Albert were all smiles in 2016, a vintage anointed by critics for its elegance and classic Rhône character. Domaine Belle picked late in a harvest of exceptional freshness, purity, and balance. Snap up your share of this dark Crozes-Hermitage beauty today, because you likely won’t see this wine anywhere else, save for on high-priced wine lists at a handful of our country’s top restaurants.