Laurent Habrard Hermitage Blanc Les Roucoules

Laurent Habrard is a dynamic young producer based in the village of Gervans in the Northern Rhone. A 5th-generation winemaker, he works with 15 hectares of organically certified old vineyards in Crozes Hermitage and Hermitage. His holdings in the former are spread across the appellation, allowing him to create blends of great complexity.

He works with the bare minimum of sulphur and employs some very traditional methods including treading the grapes by foot which he believes gives the red wines softness and gentle, even extraction. The quality is superb across the board, with recent awards suggesting Laurent is a star of the future.

Grapes are handpicked and gently pressed when they arrive in the winery, then the fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled vats. The wine is subsequently aged in 3 year old French oak barrels before bottling.

Grape Varieties: 100% Marsanne.

Farming Practices: Contains Sulfites - Organic

Tasting Notes: The medium to full-bodied all-Marsanne 2015 Hermitage Blanc comes from Les Rocoules, one of my favorite lieux-dits for white Hermitage. It's round and generous, with toasted almond accents layered over dense, concentrated marmalade fruit, and there's a long, spice-tinged finish. Given what appears to be low acidity, I'd opt for drinking this over the near term.

Food Match: Roast chicken with morels, halibut in a beurre blanc sauce.

Sugar Level: 0.27g/l

Awards: DECANTER 90/100. Robert Parker - 91pts.

Closure: Natural Cork

Vintage: 2015

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