Anna-Christina Cabrales, Wine Enthusiast
A bright nose leads with ripe red bramble, boysenberry, violets, white pepper and broken granite minerality, genuinely inviting from the start. The palate turns more savory, offering baked plum, iodine, saffron and terracotta. Polished tannins and ample acidity make this an easy match at the table, especially alongside a spice-rubbed rack of lamb. 92 Points
John Gilman, View from the Cellar
The 2023 Crozes-Hermitage “les Launes” bottling from Maison Delas is a lovely bottle that is quite accessible out of the blocks, but has a good underlying structure that will also allow it to age nicely. It comes in at an even thirteen percent octane this year and offers up a wide open and complex bouquet of cassis, roasted venison, pepper, bonfire, black olive, a fine base of dark soil, a wisp of oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good core of fruit, fine soil undertow, moderate tannins and lovely balance on the long, classy finish. This is a very good bottle of Crozes for drinking now or over the next dozen years or so. Good juice. (Drink between 2026-2040). 91 Points
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
The 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Les Launes is composed of around 80% fruit from the alluvial plains, complemented by grapes from Gervans and Larnage on granitic soils, and was matured partly in used barrels (around 20%). It opens with a bright bouquet of dark fruits and violet, offering a fresh and floral aromatic profile with notes of mulberry. Medium-bodied, juicy and elegant, it’s gourmand and immediately appealing, though not especially deep. More tense and structured on the palate than the nose suggests, it remains straight and well-defined, concluding with an ethereal finish. 91 Points
