2017 Jeanne Gaillard Crozes-Hermitage 750 ml

You can’t talk about Northern Rhône greatness without talking about Pierre Gaillard. Beyond establishing a marquee house in Côte-Rotie and Condrieu, he also led the way in cultivating some of the Rhône’s most iconic vineyards, including Guigal’s La Turque.

Now his daughter Jeanne’s star has begun to rise, and we’re backing her Crozes-Hermitage as the region’s new dollar-for-dollar gold standard. It has everything we want from a Syrah—black fruit, wild game, cracked pepper, and the guts to surprise us with every sip. 

But while the elder Gaillard’s wines fetch well over $100 per bottle, Jeanne produces this textbook classic for less than $30. 

The Northern Rhône is an extreme place to grow grapes. Steep slopes, cold winds, hard soils. Yet a handful of families have made it an art form, passing down peculiar secrets through the generations and uncovering the discreet charms that arise from this fruit on this land, fortified by time.   

The Gaillards are one such family.

Drinking Jeanne’s wines feels like seeing Radiohead at the Jericho Tavern circa 1991 or Beyoncé as part of Destiny’s Child. It’s apparent from the start that whoever’s making this has what it takes to hit the top and keep going. 

In this Crozes-Hermitage, she’s riffing on something old school, a deep well of tradition, but the wine refuses to buckle under those constraints. Instead, it expands the tradition it’s drawing from. Focused, innovative—and fun! 

Unlike its fusty elders, this Crozes is crushable right out of the gate. No need to sit on it for a decade or more. It’s the perfect wine to pop right now and discover the glories of soulful Syrah.

Jeanne holds five hectares of vines at the southernmost point of Crozes-Hermitage, where the appellation meets the confluence of the Rhône and Isère Rivers, about a quarter-mile from Cornas. The wine favors that neighborhood style—meaty and lively in equal measure. 

A rich purple in the glass, with dark berry and savory notes lifted by a wisp of sweet smoke. The palate is playful, juicy, fresh and fleshy, black-olive briny and punctuated by wild herbs. The grip of the tannins pulls you through to the end without creasing your tongue along the way. Just toothy enough to keep you chewing.

Jeanne Gaillard may have trained formally in Burgundy and California, but it’s clear her heart belongs in the valleys of the Northern Rhône. She has a preternatural feel for the wines that we think makes her destined for greatness. And this Crozes ranks hands-down as one of the best values the region has to offer.