I recently went through an enjoyable tasting of a small handful of wines from the 250 year old Rhone Negociant Vidal-Fleury. I was pretty impressed across the board; from the fresh, cherry-fruit Cotes du Rhone to the green olive tinged 2001 St. Joseph that's just starting to gain complex secondary characteristics, the wines were very nice. I ultimately settled on the 2005 Crozes-Hermitage to add to the list, both by the bottle and by the glass.2005 Vidal-Fleury Crozes-Hermitage
"The nose is dominated by pure Syrah fruit - black fruits with blue fruit highlights - and subtle empyreumatic hints (leather, tar). This is what Syrah should smell like and almost never does in its mimicked Australian form Shiraz. Medium- to full-bodied but balanced and not bulky on the palate. Just enough tannic grip to create nice structure while remaining very approachable."
