A smoking Crozes Hermitage, the 2012 Crozes Hermitage les Varonniers sports a vibrant purple color to go with notes of black cherries, bouquet garni and ground pepper. Medium to full-bodied, soft, fleshy and beautifully textured, is has enough underlying tannin to keep it drinking nicely through 2022 or so. It's worth noting that at a recent 2003 retrospective, this was firing on all cylinders and bested more than a few more expensive Hermitage.