Crozes-Hermitage AOC

Area classified as cru (top appellation) for red wines (90% of production) and white wines in the northern section of the Rhône on the left bank. A well-known aficionado of the wines was the locally famous Bandit Mandrin. The vineyards cover around 1,500 hectares of vines in eleven communes in the Drôme department. In the northern area, the subsoil consists of granite and weathered clay with terraced vineyards. In the larger southern area, the soils consist of deposits of gravel and boulders mixed with red clay. The highest parts are covered with loess. There is a mixture of continental and Mediterranean climate with moderate rainfall.

The wines are similar to those of the adjacent Hermitage area to the north, but are considered simpler and lighter than these. The red wines are made from the only permitted red wine variety, Syrah, and a maximum of 15% of the white varieties Marsanne or Roussanne, the white wines from the varieties Marsanne and Roussanne. The best-known producers include Albert Belle, Chapoutier, Bernard Chave, Domaine du Colombier, Domaine Combier, Château de Curson, Desmeure, Domaine des Entrefaux, Fayolle, Alain Graillot, Jaboulet-Aîné and Domaine du Pavillon-Mercurol.

Map: By DalGobboM in Wikipedia - Own work, GFDL, Link