Domaine les Alexandrins - The Expression of the Rhône Valley Terroir. Made from old vines, our white Crozes-Hermitage is a great classic, elegant and refined, vinified using methods that faithfully uphold local traditions.
Presentation
Description
A partnership between two winegrowers in the Rhône Valley – Nicolas Jaboulet and Alexandre Caso – Domaine les Alexandrins crafts wines in the purest tradition of the Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph appellations. They are made from exceptional terroirs, ensuring the very finest expression of the appellation. Our Crozes-Hermitage comes from a superb terroir planted with old vines located in the heart of the appellation, around the villages of Pont d’Isère (Les Flouris) and Beaumont Monteux (Vie Magne).
Terroir
This parcel is located in the plains, on pebbles. The vines are tended in a traditional way, using methods that respect the terroir, thereby encouraging biodiversity and drawing out the very best from the grapes. This is why some of our centenary vine stocks are able to withstand the tests of time and continue to give their best.
The vintage
Marked by contrasting climatic conditions, the 2025 vintage was a demanding, yet a promising year. After flowering under intense sunshine, a hailstorm at the end of June, and then a scorching August, the vines demonstrated remarkable resilience. While yields remained modest, the quality of the grapes concentrated, perfectly healthy, and exemplarily ripe promises great wines. The Roussanne and Marsanne, particularly early, opened the white harvest before the later-ripening Viognier, offering a nice spread out harvest. Syrah reached a uniform maturity across all appellations, requiring a quick and precise harvest. In the cellar, the reds revealed very healthy grapes and concentrated musts, favoring gentle vatting and giving rise to wines with a deep color, fine tannins, and delicious aromas. The whites, in excellent sanitary health, are distinguished by their acidic balance, their well-integrated structure and their beautiful aromas typical of northern grape varieties. Both whites and reds require careful aging to express all the complexity of a mature, harmonious vintage that promises very good aging. Like other years ending with the number 5, 2025 could well be among the very great vintages.
Location
An Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in the northern Rhône Valley since 1937, the Crozes-Hermitage vineyard lies on the left bank of the Rhône, between the Hermitage and Saint-Joseph appellations. The earliest vines in this terroir were first grown in Roman times. Its name comes from two place names: “Crozes”, from the Latin crucem, which means “cross” or “crossroads”, and “Hermitage”, from the Latin heremitagium, meaning “hermitage” in English. It refers to the hill rising above the Rhône, on the summit of which the knight Henri Gaspard de Stérimberg settled to live as a hermit on his return from the Albigensian Crusade.
Process
A wine crafted in an immensely classic way, with carefully controlled ageing to bring nuance.
- Harvested by hand.
- Vinified in barrels of one or two wines.
- Stirred to add body.
- Matured in barrels for six months.
- Quantity limited to just 2,000 bottles.
- Harvested by hand.
- Vinified in barrels of one or two wines.
- Stirred to add body.
- Matured in barrels for six months.
- Quantity limited to just 2,000 bottles.
Varietals
Marsanne
Roussanne
Roussanne
Advice
Tasting
Seductive pale yellow robe with brilliant gold highlights. Highly aromatic, this wine reveals beautiful aromas of white flowers, underscored by notes of dried fruits and toast stemming from its barrel fermentation and aging. Ample and generous, the palate offers beautiful volume and rich substance, striking a perfect balance between the concentration, roundness, and power of the Marsanne, and the freshness, aromatic precision, and delicate acidity of the Roussanne. An elegant wine that is approachable now, yet merits cellaring to gain further complexity.
Food pairings
This rich, full-bodied wine with aromas of dried fruits is the perfect match for poultry in a cream sauce.
Serving
Serve at 12°C. Right now: fresh and balanced. Cellaring time: ideally, open within 5 years.