Crozes Hermitage blanc On the Rhône Again 2024 Julien Pilon
€24.50
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Product Details
- Format
- 75 cl
- Region
- VALLEE DU RHONE
- Vintage
- 2023
- Classification
- VILLAGE
- Appellation
- CROZES HERMITAGE
- Alcohol
- 13.5°
- Colour
- White
- Country
- FRANCE
- Taster
- Adrien
A fresh and generous expression from Julien Pilon, this Marsanne reveals floral elegance and mineral tension in perfect balance.
The Crozes-Hermitage Blanc On the Rhône Again 2024 from Julien Pilon carries a name that tells its own story before the wine does. On the Rhône Again, a playful nod to Hank Williams' famous song as covered by Bernard Lavilliers, marks Julien's return to his native Rhône valley after travelling the world with his wife, a journey that confirmed what he already knew: the northern Rhône was his true home. Rated 92/100, this 100% Marsanne from two parcels in Mercurol is among his most consistent and compelling cuvées, a rock and roll spirit in spirit, yet serious in the glass.
The terroir and vines
On the Rhône Again comes from two parcels in Mercurol, at the heart of Crozes-Hermitage, the largest appellation in the northern Rhône. Mercurol is renowned within the appellation for its white wines: the soils are argilo-calcareous mixed with water-rolled pebbles, a substrate that marries the freshness and minerality of limestone terroirs with the depth and structure of the Rhône's alluvial deposits. The gentle slopes benefit from generous sunshine tempered by valley winds, preserving the natural acidity and aromatic freshness of the variety. Marsanne, the emblematic and almost exclusive grape for northern Rhône whites, delivers its fullest personality here: floral and fruited in youth, it develops with age notes of honey, beeswax and spice that make it one of France's most rewarding age-worthy whites. Vinification is precise and minimal: pressing followed by rigorous settling, slow alcoholic fermentation at cool temperature, complete malolactic fermentation, then ten months ageing on lees in oak barrels with only 10 to 15% new wood, enough to add complexity without masking fruit or terroir.
Tasting profile
The colour is pale gold with silver glints, bright and well-defined. The nose is expressive and aromatic, classically Marsanne: honeyed and floral notes, acacia, white flowers, sweet alyssum, mingle with yellow peach, ripe apricot and fresh hazelnut, touched lightly by the barrel ageing, fine and well-integrated. On the palate, the wine combines generous volume with freshness, Julien's signature for this variety: natural richness and amplitude, driven by lovely acidity that brings tension and energy. The structure is elegant and mineral, echoing Mercurol's argilo-calcareous soils. The finish is long and drawn out by the fine bitterness characteristic of Marsanne, a faintly saline note that closes the wine with grace and persistence. An airy, savorous and generous white, ready to drink with pleasure now and promising fine evolution over three to five years.
The domaine
Julien Pilon is among the most engaging figures in the northern Rhône vineyard. Based in Chavanay on the right bank of the Rhône, he made his first vintages in 2010 from his parents' garage, without land or cellar, progressively building a producer-négociant structure whose reputation has grown with each vintage, earning recognition from Revue du Vin de France. Trained by Yves Cuilleron, then at Mas Amiel in Roussillon, in Spain at Banyuls alongside Pierre and Pascale Gaillard, and finally with Pierre-Jean Villa in Chavanay, he forged a precise and recognisable style. His approach is clear: careful ageing, tailored solutions for each parcel and vintage, respect for fruit purity. His range now extends from IGP Collines Rhodaniennes through to Hermitage Grand Cru, each cuvée bearing a fanciful name, On the Rhône Again, Mon Grand Père était Limonadier, Dimanche à Lima, like postcards from a life well lived.
Food pairings
This Crozes-Hermitage Blanc pairs beautifully with traditional blanquette de veau, pork tenderloin with rosemary, sole meunière, cold langoustines with homemade mayonnaise, white monkfish stew, or poultry with cream and morels. It is equally delicious with soft cheeses such as aged Saint-Marcellin or semi-dry goat's cheese. Served between 10 and 12 °C, it will reveal the full floral generosity and mineral tension of a great northern Rhône white.
The terroir and vines
On the Rhône Again comes from two parcels in Mercurol, at the heart of Crozes-Hermitage, the largest appellation in the northern Rhône. Mercurol is renowned within the appellation for its white wines: the soils are argilo-calcareous mixed with water-rolled pebbles, a substrate that marries the freshness and minerality of limestone terroirs with the depth and structure of the Rhône's alluvial deposits. The gentle slopes benefit from generous sunshine tempered by valley winds, preserving the natural acidity and aromatic freshness of the variety. Marsanne, the emblematic and almost exclusive grape for northern Rhône whites, delivers its fullest personality here: floral and fruited in youth, it develops with age notes of honey, beeswax and spice that make it one of France's most rewarding age-worthy whites. Vinification is precise and minimal: pressing followed by rigorous settling, slow alcoholic fermentation at cool temperature, complete malolactic fermentation, then ten months ageing on lees in oak barrels with only 10 to 15% new wood, enough to add complexity without masking fruit or terroir.
Tasting profile
The colour is pale gold with silver glints, bright and well-defined. The nose is expressive and aromatic, classically Marsanne: honeyed and floral notes, acacia, white flowers, sweet alyssum, mingle with yellow peach, ripe apricot and fresh hazelnut, touched lightly by the barrel ageing, fine and well-integrated. On the palate, the wine combines generous volume with freshness, Julien's signature for this variety: natural richness and amplitude, driven by lovely acidity that brings tension and energy. The structure is elegant and mineral, echoing Mercurol's argilo-calcareous soils. The finish is long and drawn out by the fine bitterness characteristic of Marsanne, a faintly saline note that closes the wine with grace and persistence. An airy, savorous and generous white, ready to drink with pleasure now and promising fine evolution over three to five years.
The domaine
Julien Pilon is among the most engaging figures in the northern Rhône vineyard. Based in Chavanay on the right bank of the Rhône, he made his first vintages in 2010 from his parents' garage, without land or cellar, progressively building a producer-négociant structure whose reputation has grown with each vintage, earning recognition from Revue du Vin de France. Trained by Yves Cuilleron, then at Mas Amiel in Roussillon, in Spain at Banyuls alongside Pierre and Pascale Gaillard, and finally with Pierre-Jean Villa in Chavanay, he forged a precise and recognisable style. His approach is clear: careful ageing, tailored solutions for each parcel and vintage, respect for fruit purity. His range now extends from IGP Collines Rhodaniennes through to Hermitage Grand Cru, each cuvée bearing a fanciful name, On the Rhône Again, Mon Grand Père était Limonadier, Dimanche à Lima, like postcards from a life well lived.
Food pairings
This Crozes-Hermitage Blanc pairs beautifully with traditional blanquette de veau, pork tenderloin with rosemary, sole meunière, cold langoustines with homemade mayonnaise, white monkfish stew, or poultry with cream and morels. It is equally delicious with soft cheeses such as aged Saint-Marcellin or semi-dry goat's cheese. Served between 10 and 12 °C, it will reveal the full floral generosity and mineral tension of a great northern Rhône white.
