Les Bâties is a cool, southeast-facing lieu-dit on the stony red clay, loess and fractured, oxidised granite of Larnage—part of a valley on the northern side of the Hermitage hill. This was the historic centre of Crozes-Hermitage before the planting of the broad Chassis plain to the south (after the 1970s). Again, altitude (200 metres) and granite are key factors, as are the age and pruning of the vines (goblet-pruned Syrah planted in the 1950s and 1960s).
With Souillard’s signature purity, freshness and balance writ large, the 2021 is a beautifully cool and compact Crozes. This cuvée was fermented with mostly whole clusters and raised for 14 months in mature casks.