Domaine Alain Graillot

Many will already be aware of the sad news that the Rhône lost one of its great pioneers just recently. Alain Graillot, the godfather of Crozes-Hermitage, showed the wine world what was possible from this once disrespected Northern Rhône outpost through his vision, passion, and hard work. Domaine Alain Graillot quickly became the benchmark of Crozes and one of the most respected producers in the entire region. 

Alain was one of our foundational growers, having been in our portfolio since day one. An extract from our offer of his 2004 Crozes release reads; ‘You don’t have to spend too much time with Alain Graillot to understand why he has become so successful a vigneron. His depth of knowledge is remarkable, both in terms of viticulture and winemaking ... yet he is also remarkably humble, quick to acknowledge the help he has had along the way and refusing to hike up his prices despite demand far outstripping supply.’ These words could have been written with accuracy at any time during Alain’s dynamic career in wine.

“There was a Crozes-Hermitage appellation pre-ALAIN GRAILLOT, and one post-ALAIN GRAILLOT. That’s a very rare comment in the general scheme of things.” John Livingstone-Learmonth.

Know that the Domaine is in very good hands. Maxime Graillot has been making all the growing and winemaking decisions here for several years—with Alain only on hand for advice, no longer involved in the day-to-day. We have witnessed continuous growth and evolution for as long as we have been visiting and tasting—something that has only accelerated under Maxime Graillot. Alain would not have had it any other way.

Domaine Alain Graillot has the sort of vineyard that makes the wine traveller thirsty. It’s the kind of place that simply looks like it makes great wine. Gnarled yet well-manicured vines reach up from a sea of smooth, rolled stones, each about the size of a child’s fist. At chez Graillot, the vineyards run deep with such stones, sometimes as far down as 30 metres. It’s the kind of rocky terrain that is common in the Southern Rhône but far less so in the north. You only have to look at it to see that this was once an ancient riverbed. The stones are in fact of Alpine origin, left behind when the nearby Isére River changed course in some ancient era. Anyway, it’s always refreshing when the wines live up to the scenery, and at the Graillot’s place, they really do.

Regarding winemaking, there are no secrets. The grapes are loaded (crushed yet not destemmed) into lined concrete vats and temperatures are brought down to 18°C for a two to five-day pre-fermentation maceration. The fermentation relies on natural yeast and, once this is finished, the wine is aged for one year in mostly 1-7-year-old 228-litre Burgundian barrels purchased from some of the top estates in Burgundy. Since the 2011 vintage, Stockinger ovals have begun to play a quiet, yet growing role. One small evolution is that Maxime Graillot is now giving the wines a slightly longer ageing——15/16 months, as opposed to the 12 months that was the norm when his father ran the show. The results are wines that are just that little bit more complex and complete on release.